Star Fox: A Quest for Meaning
by Inquirius
Summary: Post-Star Fox: Command: A heart-broken and soul-drained Fox McCloud has become a bounty hunter, and is sent to track down a mysterious target named Kursed. Will their reunion bring these two together, or shatter them completely?
1. I Would Have Crawled Forever

**C H A P T E R** _one:_

_**I Would Have Crawled Forever**_

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****The street lights formed a halo floating over Ecaps, the capital city of the planet Kew. Fox sat atop the balcony of his hotel room, a small drink on the table next to him and a book in his hand. Sighing, he placed the book on the table and picked up the drink, ice cubes clinking as he took a small sip of scotch. Exhaling gently, he pulled his portable computer from his luggage bag. He opened it up, and the screen glowed in silent greeting. He typed away, accessing the internet and checking his email for any information or tips from his client regarding the latest target. Upon the discovery that there was no new information to be had, he checked his bank balance. It was in the black. Way in the black. In the black to the tune of over two-million credits. Being a veteran of three wars and a successful mercenary for most of his life had made him wealthy. Still, he knew as well as anyone that wealth didn't necessarily mean comfort and happiness.

_ Krystal…, _He thought. _Why did I…? Why did you…? _He cut himself off from that line of thought. No use in making himself more depressed than he already was. He knew the consequences of his actions, and he knew that he couldn't rewrite time.

He opened the small file of information for the latest job. His prey was a bounty hunter, like himself, who apparently went by the name "Kursed." _Typical, _mused Fox._ Probably an alias. _Fox continued re-reading the file, just in case a piece of information had escaped him. _Vixen. Mid-twenties. Blue fur. _The last part always got to him. His mind once again wandered to thoughts of Krystal. Quickly, he silenced them. _Probably just a disguise_, he snapped at himself, cruelly. _It's so pathetic that you get your hopes up every time you read that._

Fox checked the small clock on the upper right hand side of his monitor. It was 6:45 pm. Carefully, Fox closed the computer and slid it back into his luggage bag. In the bottom of the bag was a flight case, roughly two feet by one foot, painted a matte black. He gently eased it out and set it on the floor. On the front was a small compartment, accessed through a inauspicious switch on the side of the case. Fox pressed the switch, opening the compartment and revealing a miniscule ten-digit keypad and an LED screen. Fox dialed in the combination on muscle memory alone, and the phrase, "Access Granted," scrolled across the LED screen.

Fox lifted the edge of the case, revealing what appeared to be several long tubes nestled inside of foam. Methodically, he removed them from the case. Piece by piece, he assembled the tubes into what revealed itself to be a sniper rifle, the same one that he had used against the Aparoids so many years ago with minor upgrades. Admiring his precision, Fox perched himself facing towards his balcony and slightly to the left. He poised the gun facing the hotel across the street and slightly to the left of his room. He knew where his target was staying, and had selected his own room correspondingly.

He placed his eye on the sight and began meticulously zeroing in on her room. Once he was positive he had aligned his site correctly, he switched the mode on it from "Evening," to "Infra-Red," allowing him a crucial peak at the target. As usual, she was lying in bed, presumably asleep. He had been documenting her movements for a manner of days, and had seen little fluctuation in her routine. He switched the site off and put down the gun.

"Just a few more days…" he yawned to himself. He slowly dismembered the gun, gingerly placing it into its flight case before sliding the flight case back into his luggage bag. He yawned again, and meandered to the kitchen of his modest hotel room. He opened the refrigerator slowly and wasn't surprised when he was faced with its emptiness. It didn't bother him, as he rarely ate more than one or two meals a day. Still, Fox found himself getting peckish. He slipped a small stun gun into his pocket and decided to stop at the bar around the corner for some food and a drink.

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Kursed, formerly Krystal, laid awake, staring wide-eyed at her ceiling. She had a strange hunch that someone had been following her for the past several days. Strange shadows flitting in and out of her periphery, strange feelings of deja vu when she examined those around her, and now this. Krystal had spent the previous night attaching sensors to the window of her small hotel room. The sensors were designed to pick up concentrated waves of light, such as the kind that might be given off by an infra-red camera or a laser trained on her window.

After lying in bed for little more than ten minutes that night, the sensors registered a concentrated wave of infra-red light focused on her location. After about fifteen minutes, the sensors stopped picking up the signal, and Kursed heaved a sigh of relief. _This is too crazy for me_, she thought to herself. Still, a little voice in the back of her head had to speak up: _You wouldn't be alone and afraid if _he_ was here. If you hadn't left him. _

She cursed quietly and gently hit her fist to her forehead. She knew there was no point in remembering. She knew the consequences of her actions and knew that she couldn't rewrite time. She was forced to deal with the present she had created for herself.

As she began to stew in her self-pity, her stomach let out a long growl. She looked down it, remembering that she had skipped her regular dinner time so that she could track a target. _Stupid_, she thought. Still, she acquiesced to her stomach's needs and got up from the bed. She replaced her bed clothes with a pair of form-fitting black jeans and a black tee shirt. Her boots sat in front of the door, waiting patiently. She slipped them on and slid her collapsed staff into her pocket. It was to warm for a jacket, so she had nowhere to conceal a blaster.

_ Still_, she thought. _I'm only going for food. The staff will be enough. _With that, she walked out the door, being sure to lock it behind her. She exited her hotel and took a left, deciding to stop at the bar around the corner for some food.

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_Author's Note:_

So what does everyone think? I'd really like to get some reviews. This is my first attempt, so I know the only direction I can go from here is up. Feel free to hit me up with suggestions or creative criticism. Don't hold back, I can handle it. I think I got a good snap shot of two broken souls, each convinced that they have robbed the other of their happiness (feel free to correct me). I had my friend Beast proof-read this yesterday, but I added some new pieces, so I plan on having him proof-read it again after it's posted. A little short for a chapter one, but not too bad, I don't think (once again, feel free to correct me).

Send me a PM, send me some reviews! I'm dying to hear what you guys have to say!

_-**][**_nqurius


	2. Silver Bullet

**C H A P T E R** _two:_

_**Silver Bullet**_

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Fox stepped into the dimly lit bar. The smell of cigarettes and liquor mixed with that of greasy food and chewing gum, providing an off-kilter ambience. Despite the smell, the bar was only moderately smoky, the prime culprits being the three men shooting pool in the back. Their eyes sagged with tired, but their mouths were stretched upward in infantile grins, pierced only by the cigars hanging from their lips. Fox pulled a stool up to the front counter and waited to get the bartender's attention. Very little time passed before the bartender noticed Fox and began meandering in his direction.

"How ya doing?" he snorted, a small smile on his face. "I'm Sal. What can I do you for?" Fox took a brief second to examine the man. Sal was a small, greasy porcine with a jovial nature and a pleasant demeanor. He was donning a stained wife-beater that was unable to cover his beer-gut. Still, what Sal lacked in class, he easily made up with his personable attitude and devotion to his customers.

"I'm looking for some food and a drink, Sal," stated Fox. "What do you have?" The small porcine in front of him rested his chin on his hand, thinking for a quick second.

"In the way of drinks, we got everything you see on the bar. Nothing's off limits. We also got soft drinks, coffee, milk, yadda yadda. In the way of grub, we got burgers and sandwiches, along with wings, onion rings and fries. We also got fried chicken." Sal let off a toothy grin, revealing a row of slightly yellowing teeth. Fox leaned back and closed his eyes, silently considering his options for a brief second.

"Let me have a burger, lettuce and onion," he decided. "And how about a small glass of gin and tonic?"

"Can do," honked Sal. He immediately began getting Fox's order together. Fox took his time to examine the bar and the patrons thereof. He looked at pictures and memorabilia tacked to the walls, took note of all the people at the counter with him or sitting in booths, and peaked at what they had on the television in the corner. Overall, a pleasant, relatively safe environment. Fox closed his eyes and put his elbows up on the counter, resting his forehead into his fist.

Suddenly, the bell on the door dinged. Fox took a brief second to look at the entrance before turning his head away calmly. A blue vixen approached the counter and took up a stool a couple seats away from Fox. Sal strolled up to her, a massive smile spreading across his flabby features.

"Kursed!" he exclaimed. "You haven't been here in a while! I missed ya!" The vixen looked up and gave the pig a sincere smile.

"Yeah, I've been kind of up to my ears lately. How have you been?" Fox listened to her voice, noting a slight accent in her words. Somehow, the inflection and mannerisms felt disturbingly familiar. Fox turned away and tried to be inconspicuous as Sal and Kursed struck up a conversation.

After fifteen minutes of waiting for food, Fox was becoming mildly impatient. His drink sat before him, half empty. He picked it up and spun it a little in his hand, listening to the soft music of the ice cubes and the liquids. He put his glass down and sighed. He could practically feel himself straining as he tried to avert his gaze from Kursed. _Damnit_, he thought. _She really does look just like-_

His thoughts were interrupted as Sal burst out the kitchen door with a large white plate. Plopping it down in front of Fox unceremoniously, he grabbed Fox's glass and began to refill it.

"Hey Sal," Fox broke in. "As much as I loved the drink I was really only looking for one man. Money's a little tight."

"Don't worry 'bout it," slurred Sal with a wink. "Pretty lady over there says she got your bill." Fox turned his head to see two, cerulean orbs twinkling back at him. For a second, his heart melted a little. He immediately cursed his own stupidity, and reminded himself that, despite the aesthetic similarities, this was _not _the woman who he loved. Not the woman who he had so foolishly lost. She was just a dopplegänger, a look alike. Someone put there by an angry and vengeful god who sought to repeatedly remind Fox of his own stupidity. "By the way," said Sal, his backed turned to Fox. "She's good people. You mess her up, I'll mess you up. Sound good?"

Even though Sal's back was turned, Fox turned his head toward Sal and nodded. He then turned back to the vixen, smiling and raising his glass, hoping that the act of courtesy would appear sincere. It must have worked, because a smile began playing around the blue vixen's lips. She got up and walked to the stool next to him.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked. Fox looked up at her. She was the picture of innocence. For a second, his heart melted again. He corrected himself, and hardened his heart once again. He forced a grin.

"No, it's fine. Have a seat. Guess I owe you for the food anyway." He grinned again, but this time he added a sheepish touch, hoping that it would make her lower her defenses a bit.

"Any time… Fox," she said. Fox looked up, his green eyes going wide like a deer in the headlights. The tiny bit of burger he had been chewing got lodged in the back of his throat.

"I knew it was you," she said with a chuckle. "So, where's the rest of your team? The bird, and the frog, and… That blue girl." She drew the last part out a bit. At first, Fox thought that she might be on to him, before realizing that she had probably seen him on the television. That would explain the lack of knowledge regarding his team.

"Oh, um…" he said, trying to find a place to begin.

"What?" interrupted the vixen. "The mighty Fox McCloud isn't afraid of talking to girls is he?" Fox sighed and his eyebrows knit together. He had been nervous once, but that was because of love. A love he destroyed. Still, he was pleased that the target was making this mission so easy. If he made friends now, he was sure he could end the whole mission tonight.

Fox forced a laugh. "No, not afraid of girls. I just don't know where to begin." He shook his head dismissively and put up a fake smile. "Well let's see. Since the Anglar invasion, Starfox kind of went in different directions. Falco, that's the bird, started a mercenary unit called Star Falco and married his girlfriend. I join up on missions sometimes, just to help a friend out. Slippy, the frog, works with his dad as an inventor. Last I checked, he and his wife Amanda were expecting their third kid." He left out his current job as a bounty hunter.

The vixen stared at him inquisitively, until he finally looked down and met her eyes. She seemed moderately surprised by Fox meeting her gaze like that, but she didn't let it throw her off.

"Why didn't you settle down with someone?" she asked. "I thought you were with the blue girl. Whatever happened to her?" Fox stared at his feet, blinking hard.

"Her name was Krystal," he whispered. Getting a better grip on himself, he raised his volume to a more audible level. "I made a mistake and she left me. Went to Star Wolf. Unfortunately, the public was pretty hard on her. They called her all kinds of names. Traitor, back-stabber, hussy, whore, and worse. Last I heard, she had abandoned Star Wolf and fled the system." Fox shut himself up, but was unable to stop himself from continuing on just a little bit further. "I'll find her one day." He smiled wistfully.

Kursed examined him for a little bit, studying his expression. He wanted to disappear, to drop out of the universe. _Focus_, he told himself. _The target is right next to you, the pay is good. This should be easy._ Fox looked back at the vixen and offered her another smile. "So…" he said, playing dumb. "What's your name? Do you have a story?"

Her shoulders slumped a little bit, and her ears lowered. Her eyes became downcast, focusing on nothing in particular but pointing at the ground to her left. "Hello?" Fox asked. She sprung up, surprised.

"Oh," she said. "Sorry. Zoned out for a little there. My name's Kursed. I'm a bounty hunter. I used to be in a relationship. It was the best relationship of my life." She began recanting to Fox her story, which was also their story. "He tried to protect me. He loved me more than life itself. But I was blind, horribly blind. I didn't take it at face value and I left for someone else. Unfortunately, that just proved too much to bear, so I ran away again." She began to stare off into space again.

"Oh well," said Fox. "It was nice meeting you, and thanks for the food." Her eyes snapped immediately to his.

"Wait!" she exclaimed. "I'll walk you home if you'd like."

Fox grinned at her. She was making this too easy. "Sure, Kursed. That sounds nice." Kursed handed some credits over to Sal and left the bar with Fox in tow. Fox stayed about a foot behind her as they walked. Not an immediately noticeable distance, but a fairly sizable one.

After walking about a block, Kursed turned to Fox. "Where are you staying?" she asked.

"East Block Hotel," he replied smoothly. The East Block was about three blocks from them. In that three blocks, he was sure that he would be able to get her. She turned back around and began speaking.

"The East Block… Hmm. That's two or 3 blocks from here…" as she was speaking, Fox pulled the stun gun from his pocket and began charging it. He attempted to muffle the high pitched whine it made as it readied itself. Kursed kept walking, but Fox was observant. He saw her leg twitch, just slightly, and had already side stepped it by the time she swung it out at him. Without hesitation, Fox pointed the stun gun at her and pulled the trigger. She shook, and then collapsed in a heap at his feet. He picked her, supporting her legs and back as one would support a child, and began heading for his hotel room.

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Kursed awoke in a small room. It seemed oddly familiar to her. The layout, the carpet, the bed. The only things she found unfamiliar were the steel bars that stood in front of the doorway. She thought back to what had happened earlier today, racking her brain and trying to remember the events that preceded her current situation. Suddenly, it her location became apparent to her. She was on the Great Fox! _Fox…_ she thought. She hoped that he would recognize her when they spoke. She hoped that she would be able to fall back into his arms. Instead, she was in a jail cell.

She balled up in the bed and began to cry quietly. _Fox… _she thought. _Why?_ Her world became a watercolor painting as the room warped and bent indiscriminately inside her tears. All of a sudden, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. She immediately sat bolt upright and brushed her tears away. The footsteps came to a stop, and she could hear what sounded like metal rattling against metal like pennies in a jar, or a keychain. Fox approached the door holding a small key ring in his right hand.

"Good!" he said. A grin on his face stretched from ear to ear. "You're awake. Perfect. I thought you had gotten hurt. I was worried." Her ears perked up, and her heart fluttered in her chest. Fox continued, "My employer would be angry if I didn't deliver you alive." Her ears immediately went back to where they had been before: pressed down tight against her head. She felt her heart sink like a stone.

Fox began speaking again. "Now, we're going from Kew to the Lylat system," he started. "This ship isn't equipped with a warp, so even at top speed, this journey would take about a week and a half. However, in the interest of safety, this ship will be at closer to sixty-five percent speed. That means that this trip with take a little over two weeks. I figure I might as well lay down some ground rules for your stay. First, this is my ship. Anything you do to it will be taken out on _you_." He spoke the last part with so much menace that Kursed shivered. His mind offered no warmth either. _Fox, what happened to you? Was it me?_

Oblivious to Kursed's inner turmoil, Fox continued: "Now, I have no intention of keeping you cooped up in that tiny little room this whole time. However, I feel that it's best to base where you can go and what you can do on how well you behave and what your attitude is like. Who knows? If you're good, you might just have full run of the ship by the time week one is up. Of course, I'm not that trusting, so you have a tracker bracelet around your ankle. If you do anything I don't like, or go somewhere you shouldn't be, prepare for quite a shock." Kursed watched as Fox grinned and chuckled to himself. Despite his mannerisms, she could sense that he was being frank with her.

"Anyway," said Fox, shifting his weight from his right foot to his left. "Lunch is going to be in about two hours. You slept right through breakfast." With that, he turned on his heel and walked away. Kursed could feel the sadness coursing through her veins. Such a cold, deep sadness. Slowly, she came to the realization that not all of the sadness was hers. Much of it was drifting off of Fox himself. Huge, billowing clouds of it. She set her face in her hands and cried deeply.

Roughly two hours later, Fox showed up at the door to Kursed's chamber. She had cried so much that she felt her tear ducts were dry, and had relegated herself to sitting in the corner, feeling miserable. As Fox entered the door with a tray of edibles, Kursed allowed her blood-red eyes to follow him around. "Here's some food. When you're done, hit the button next to the door. I'll come by and pick up the tray." He placed the tray on the bed and walked out the door. "By the way," he yelled back. "A little 'please,' and 'thank you,' goes a long way."

Kursed sat there, staring at the food on the tray and thinking about the emotions she had picked up from Fox. She cursed herself as she felt his apathy and his pity towards her. _Wonderful_, she said to herself. _He thinks you're pitiful_. She continued to think back to the veritable cocktail of emotions that she had been receiving from Fox since he unknowingly re-united with her on Kew. As she watched the tape play over and over in her head, she became less and less sad and more and more angry.

_ Everything he said was a lie_, she told herself. She gritted her teeth. The sadness she had received from him when he spoke about Krystal was probably faked. The feeling of a hunter on the prowl --which she had misinterpreted as him trying to get lucky-- was actually the feeling of a hunter on the prowl. His cute awkwardness, his relief in talking about his emotions, his regret over losing Krystal. _All a lie_.

_ Dammit_, she thought, as she felt her face moisten again. _That rotten… Rotten… _She broke out sobbing again, and cried herself into a deep sleep. She dreamed of Fox, and her, and their time together. The good times, before things had become so confusing. She remembered Sauria, where he rescued her. She remembered him saving her over and over again during the Aparoid invasion. She remembered running away from him, when all he wanted was to assure her protection. And she hated him for it. She hated him for making her love him.

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That night, Fox gently opened the door to Kursed's room. She had barely eaten any of her food. He sighed and picked up the tray. As he was about to leave, he noticed her shivering in her bed. He put the tray outside the door and walked back to her bed. He scooped the covers up and placed them over her. He watched a look of contentment wash over her sleeping face. _Dammit_, he thought. _She looks so much like _her. He began to sob gently, and quietly to himself. Kursed felt his emotions so close, and opened one eye to watch him.

"Krystal…" he choked through tears. He remembered where he was and stopped himself. Kursed watched and listened and felt as the emotions running through Fox's mind changed, moving from a deep sadness to an acidic rage

"I hate her," he sobbed. "I hate her for making me love her." With that, he abruptly got up and stormed out of the room.

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That night, both vulpine fell asleep alone, in their own beds. Each dreamed of being able to reach out and feel the other's presence. While Fox didn't know who the vixen on his ship was, he couldn't help but feel that she was somehow responsible for his emotional behavior. Something about her was just so familiar to him. Meanwhile, Kursed laid in her bed just down the hall. She felt Fox's sadness and longed to tell him who she was and that she was here, but she knew that she couldn't. Not yet. The two vulpine slept fitfully, each too damaged to begin to help the other.

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_Author's Note:_

Got some great feedback for the first chapter from some older members. I used their suggestions to groom over this chapter. I hope the edits help! Once again, if you have any suggestions, write a review or PM me.

_-][_nquirius


	3. Bed for the Scraping

**C H A P T E R** _three_:

_**Bed for the Scraping**_

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Kursed woke up late for the second day in a row. She gritted her teeth and cursed at herself. She couldn't let this become a habit, especially considering her current situation. She pulled herself up into a sitting position, letting her eyes adjust to the relatively high levels of light. She took a minute to gather her thoughts. So much had happened in the past couple of days. She squinted into the sterile white light and reoriented herself. She looked at her surroundings in greater detail than she had before. Peeling her body off of the sheets, she felt the covers fall to the ground by her feet. _Funny_, she thought. _I don't remember covering myself last night_. Something in the back of her mind was bothering her. An impending sense of dread. She pushed the sensation away. She didn't want to deal with it right now.

Kursed pushed herself up, standing upright for what felt like the first time in years. She carefully moved to a door on the far side of the room. Gingerly, she put her hand on the door knob. She froze for a second, expecting some kind of powerful electric shock, or for a tranquilizer dart to find her neck. She carefully opened one eye at a time, slightly aghast at the fact that there was no security guarding the door. She turned the knob slightly and froze again. Meeting no resistance for the second time, she turned it completely. The room it revealed was dark, and she couldn't make out the fine details of what laid within.

Groping blindly, she found a light slider on the inside wall of the room, just to the right of the doorframe. She pressed her thumb on the bottom and slid it up. As she did this, the room slowly revealed itself. She found herself standing in a well-stocked washroom. She looked in the mirror and saw a small note had been taped to it. She peeled it off carefully and read it over. It was written in the tidy scrawl of Fox McCloud.

_Dear Kursed,_

_Feel free to use the washroom any time you see fit. It's stocked with a variety of cleaning supplies to suit your needs. If anything appears missing, don't hesitate to contact me. Note: articles of clothing which need washing should be pushed into the chute adjacent to the shower._

_-Fox_

Underneath of the note was some information regarding contacting Fox from her room. She groaned. _Why does that jerk have to be so damn considerate? _she groused to herself._ He is the only idiot who will break your heart, hunt you like an animal, throw you in a cage, and then supply you with what amounts to be a hotel room and room service on his own damn ship. _She shook her head and grumbled a bit more. However, somewhere in her psyche, she sensed a modicum of joy-- some odd happiness. Somewhere in her mind, she was still the optimistic kit from four years ago. Somewhere, she felt that Fox wasn't the hardened man he claimed to be.

She tried her hardest to suppress that part of herself. It was the only part she couldn't stop. She couldn't stop it from loving, she couldn't stop it from hoping, and she couldn't stop the inevitable pain when it was crushed by her latest stupid mistake. That stupid, hopeful part of her mind was the part that took the note and carefully placed it on the small table next to the bed. She hated herself for it. She hated Fox for making her love him, but deeper than that, she hated herself for falling in love with him again and again.

Kursed sighed and walked back into the washroom. She took a second to examine herself in the mirror, curious and slightly wary of how she might appear after the past two days. As she looked into the mirror, she winced, her fears confirmed. Heavy bags drooped beneath her eyes, lining them with unnatural darkness. They appeared frighteningly sunken in. Her hair was greasy, and the natural blue color could be seen in the roots of her long purple locks. She smelled herself, nearly gagging on how wretched she smelled.

_Well_, she mused. _Fox did say I could use this place_. She stripped out of her black jeans and he tee shirt and threw them into the chute without a second thought. She check the mirror for just a second, examining herself again. She couldn't help but giggle at how ridiculous she looked, standing there greasy and stinky, where nothing but her underwear and her tall black socks. She continued chuckling as she removed the rest of her clothing and stepped into the shower.

She looked up at the nozzle, and watched the steam and hot water pour out. She didn't move out of the way or flinch as the scalding hot liquid touched her flesh. She simply stayed stock-still and let the water run over her. Eventually, she got used to the hot liquid that was being poured over her, and became accustomed to the vapor drifting down and licking her fur. She reached for some of soap that Fox had left in the room. Something about that shower felt symbolic. She wasn't just scrubbing away the tired and the dirty; she was also trying to scrub away the misery and the hurt.

About thirty minutes later, every part of her was raw from cleaning. She turned off the shower and sighed lightly. Unfortunately, misery and hurt were not so easily washed away. She stepped out into her room in nothing but a towel. After five minutes of searching, she was able to locate where Fox had put her clothes and she began getting dressed. _Might as well dress comfortable_, she thought. _I'm going to be staying here for a while_. She pulled out one of her many plain black tee shirts, and a pair of ratty old sweat pants. When she bought them, they were a dark blue. They had since faded to a light gray and were beginning to fray around the left pocket.

Somewhere, Kursed still knew something was wrong. She still felt that odd sense of rising dismay in the back of her mind, but now that she had refreshed herself, she knew what it was. She rushed to the door and peeked through the small window on its face, hoping to see outside. _Dammit_, she cursed. _This window is useless! _She went back to the bed and pulled up the note from the bedside table. She re-read the bottom portion of her note, until she came to the emergency information. Her eyes swept it up and down until she found what she wanted.

Following the instructions, she found the light slider for the main room and opened it on its hinge. Underneath was a small red button. Gritting her teeth, she pressed the button. Her door sprang open. _One minute_, she said. _One minute until this bracelet fries me_. She rushed to the door on the end of the hall, and opened it quickly and quietly, amazed that it too was unlocked. She treaded carefully into Fox's room, and found him exactly as she had predicted.

He looked like a picture of death, holding his sheets in a death grip, his skin pale and clammy. Cold sweat poured down his forehead. She bit her lip. As much as she had convinced herself of her hatred for Fox, she hated seeing him like this even more. Carefully, she pressed her hands to his temples, as she had so many times before. She probed his mind gently, observing his nightmare while simultaneously trying to push the demons it held away.

She began crying slightly. His nightmare was not one of war or violence. His nightmare was of Krystal saying goodbye to him. She probed deeper. _Shh, Fox. It's okay, _she thought. _I want you to know that it was wrong to leave you, and that I will always love y_--. Her intervention was cut short by the presence of her ankle bracelet. One minute had passed, and it was beginning to send painful pulses of electricity into her body. The room began to spin as her body clenched up. She tried to support herself on the night table next to Fox's bed, but the next thing she knew, she was writhing on the floor, the table now on its side next to her.

The commotion caused Fox to wake. Immediately wise to the presence of his captive writhing on the floor, he sprung out of bed. Through half-closed eyes, Kursed watch him hit a switch. Her body immediately released, and she sighed deeply. Fox began walking toward her. She assumed that he was going to help her, or take her to the sick bay, or even lecture her. Instead, he picked up a piece of wood that had fallen off the night table. She heard small crystalline clinks as shards of glass fluttered to the floor.

She felt something wet land on her face. Then another. _Tears_, she thought. _Why is he crying? _She tried to read his mind, but all she could find was a tsunami of sadness. As soon as the wave had swept pass, all she could sense was rage. He was boiling. He was about to explode. Kursed felt afraid. She had never before seen a person so angry. Suddenly, she yelped loudly. Fox had shoved his foot into her rib cage. Her sides and chest began to ache, as she felt Fox kick her over and over.

"You! Broke! It! All! I! Had! Left!" she could hear him grunting through gritted teeth. The kicks kept flying. In the end, she wasn't sure what happened. Had she passed out first, or had Fox stopped kicking her first? All she knew was that the pain began to slowly filter away, as a haziness filled her mind.

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Fox put his head into his hands and cried. He didn't know what he had done until he had done it. He had simply stopped and looked down at the helpless vixen lying face down on his floor. Her breaths were shallow, and she was bleeding from an unseen wound. _Oh no, oh no, oh no_. The though cycled through Fox's head over and over. _Please don't die_. He picked her up delicately and began rushing to the sick bay in nothing but the boxers he had worn to sleep.

"ROB!" he shouted.

"Yes, Fox?" responded ROB64, his voice monotonous and metallic.

"I need a bed in the sick bay prepared! Please! Get on it!" Fox was frantic.

He looked at the limp figure in his hands. "Don't you dare die on me!" he screamed.

Fox's run to the sick bay took little over a minute, but it felt like forever. All he could think about was the poor, lifeless vixen in his arms. He remembered lowering her into the cot, which then rolled toward the medical devices to prepare her for care. He watched and listened as scanners took pictures, computers analyzed data, and her cot was configured to best combat her ailment. It felt like an eternity. Eventually, the cot wheeled back to its initial location. The IV had been set up with 2 baggies, each dripping at a different rate. Fox could see bandages and protective pieces wrapping the vixen's torso, shoulders, and thighs. He held her hand feebly as she slept.

_I'm so useless_, he cried. _I never deserved Krystal. All I do is hurt people. _He examined the sleeping vixen. Now that he could see her up close like this, the physical similarities between Kursed and Krystal became more apparent. Fox began sobbing. He knew in his heart that he was a monster. He had nearly killed this poor vixen. He thought back to the situation. _Why was she in my room? _he wondered. Still, he knew that the vixen hadn't meant to destroy his picture. It was his own stupid fault. The electricity had caused her to lose balance. The electricity in the ankle bracelet that he himself had put on her.

His eyes still brimming with tears, he kissed her on the forehead. He watched her lay unconscious in her cot for hours. That was it. He simply watched her sleep and held her hand. Eventually, his eyelids grew heavy. He laid his head down next to the vixens and his mind fluttered off to sleep. Before he passed out completely, he yelled inside his mind. _Krystal! I was wrong to leave you and I will always love you! _The vixen laying in the bed picked this up telepathically, and a small smile spread across her lips._ I love you, too, Fox_.

+-+-+-+-+

Both vulpine had fallen asleep. Each saw the other as they truly were, if only in their dreams. It would be two days before either vulpine awoke, as the incident left them both drained of all emotions. This left room for growth. This left room for change. As the vixen lay on the cot next to the man she loved, she vowed to let him know that she was there, truly there. Each felt the other's sadness, but their minds were content in the feeling that they might now be able to help each other overcome.


	4. Runaway

**C H A P T E R** _four_:

_**Runaway**_

_**

* * *

**_

Fox's couldn't remember how long he had been awake. All he could remember was the sensation that woke him up. He felt it in every bone in his body. It was a hand moving across the top of his head, beginning at his forehead and sliding its way down to the back of his scalp. He sighed gently as the hand stopped for a couple of seconds to toy with the tuft of white fur which stood out perennially. He couldn't remember misery, it seemed so distant from this moment. He sighed again and nuzzled against whatever his head was leaning on. He heard a quiet giggle, and the hand began to wander to his muzzle. Fox cracked open his eyes, just a bit. "Could you go back to my head?" he yawned.

A faceless voice responded to him. "Of course, Fox." The voice brought all Fox's memories shooting back to the forefront of his mind. He began to whimper.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so, so sorry." He was crying deeply. He didn't sob. He didn't scream. He simply closed his eyes and felt the warmth of his tears run down his cheeks. Just large, silent tears, streaming down his face.

"it's okay," said Kursed. She was leaning over him now, petting him more gently then she had before. She had spent enough time in his mind to know that he deserved her forgiveness. Fox, who had continued nuzzling her, stopped and looked up at her, making eye contact.

His tears stopped. The heart monitor stopped beeping. The sound of the engines faded away, leaving only the vixen and the vulpine, staring at each other face to face.

"No," said Fox. "It isn't okay. It may never be okay. But I'm going to try my hardest to _make_ it okay." The tears began coming again, and the couple resumed their place in space and time. "I've been so obsessed… So selfish. Because of someone who I can never have." said Fox. "And because of that, I've hurt the people around me, even when they didn't deserve it."

"Shh," cooed Kursed. "I mean it, everything will be okay." She began petting his head again, slowly dragging her paw across the white tuft of hair on the top of his head. Slowly, she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. Fox's eyes went wide, and he stared up at her, dumbfounded.

"Wha- what was that?" asked Fox. He stumbled over his words as they cascaded from his mouth. He blushed, embarrassed at his own inadequacy. Kursed put her hand under his muzzle and lifted his head up so they were face to face.

"That was a promise," responded Kursed. A smile began to play on her lips.

"But a promise of _what_?" queried Fox, his eyes drooping and his tone sheepish. She leaned over and kissed his forehead again.

"The promise that things will get better," replied Kursed with a small grin. Fox whimpered a little, until the vixen began petting his head again. For some reason, Fox loved the sensation. He couldn't put it into words. All he knew is that it felt like _home_. It was only then that Fox realized that he hadn't felt at home in a long, long time. He sighed, and let the sensation wash over him. The last few days had been a roller coaster ride._ Why is this happening?_ he thought. _Why am I like this? _Fox looked up at the vixen thoughtfully. She was being so kind to him, and after all he had done. For the second time that week, he felt like a monster.

He lifted his head up, breaking free from the attention momentarily. He could see the surprise on Kursed's face as he pulled away. He took a second to examine her face. _They could be the same person_, thought Fox. He bit his lip. _I wish she was the same person_. Suddenly Fox moved his hand to the back of her head. She flinched away from Fox's sudden movement. He felt a pang of guilt and shame run through him, giving him the chance to remind himself that he was a monster. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

A look of confusion crossed her face. "What was that for?" she asked.

He looked down at her. So much ran through his mind that he had a trouble getting a grip on it. It was if all the pain and anger and loneliness from the past year had become distilled into this singular moment. This moment of confrontation when he would meet it head on. Fox sighed gently. "That was a promise," he said. _A promise that I will make things better_. Fox stood up and brushed himself off. He was still wearing nothing but the clothes he had worn to bed two nights ago. He began towards the door, stretching his legs out as he went. He was almost there when a voice sounded from behind him.

"Fox?" asked Kursed. It sounded so delicate, so weary. He remembered when he met her. She hadn't sounded delicate or weary then. He cursed himself. _That's what you do yo people, you bastard. _He turned to face her and cocked an eyebrow, hoping to hide his inner turmoil. _You rip out their souls and destroy them. You deserve all the pain you get. _"Why did you do it?"

Fox looked at her. He looked through her. Then he tried to look into himself. For the second time that day, everything melted away, leaving the two vulpine alone as the world disappeared. He sighed, and tried to choke back his sadness. "There's no way I can explain it in such a way that it makes sense," he began. "The picture you accidentally broke was the last picture I had of myself and Krystal from when we were together. It was the one thing I could look at and remember what it was like to be happy."

Fox thought he saw her eyes moisten a little. He didn't want her pity. He didn't deserve it. He deserved misery. He deserved everything he got. He watched her bandage chest heave as she breathed. He continued to lock eyes with her, thinking for a second before he continued.

"I did it because…" his voice wandered off and he looked away for a second before refocusing. "I did it because once you broke that picture, I was forced to realize that I hadn't been happy in a long time. I was forced to realize that I had scared off the best thing to ever happen to me. I was forced to look at myself in the mirror and admit that I was a monster." With that, Fox left the room. He was going to be busy for the next several hours, at least.

+-+-+-+-+

Kursed woke up in what felt like a hospital bed. _How did I get here? _She struggled to recall the events that had brought her to this point. She remembered Fox capturing her coming back from the bar. She remembered waking up on the Great Fox, a prisoner. She remembered all the sadness and the hatred that she felt. Then she remembered Fox. She remembered reaching into him and seeing his dreams as he had seen them. She thought back to the nightmares that had once plagued Fox chronically. Nightmares of gore and death and loss. She was always able to pull him back from the brink just in time.

Eventually, the nightmares had subsided, and she found herself sensing more and more happiness coming from the vulpine. Then, she left. She walked out of his life. She hadn't even given him a chance to apologize. After all he had done for her, she hadn't even stopped to consider forgiving him.

She played back his nightmare in her head. It was of their last conversation. It felt like it had happened a million years ago. Inside his head, he replayed the whole scenario word for word, over and over. She felt what it was like for his heart to shatter, again and again. She had tried to soothe him, tried to reach in like she used to and pull him back from the darkness. Then, her ankle bracelet went off. She remembered the numb and the pain as the electricity shot through her body. She couldn't remember breaking the picture, she could only remember hitting the ground. Suddenly, her body had stopped jerking, and Fox was standing over her.

She saw the attack in her mind's eye. She saw him kick her over and over. He kicked her so many times that she lost count. Her whole body ached, and even thinking had felt painful. Still, one thing she couldn't help but think about was Fox. She felt her hatred for him welling up. Hatred because she couldn't bear to admit that the man attacking her was the man she once loved. Hatred because she realized how shattered that man had become. For that one second, she hated Fox completely. And in hating Fox, she hated herself.

_I deserve it_, she thought. _Just like he deserves his nightmares and his pain_. Suddenly, Fox's emotions had swept over her. Worry, piercing through his mind. Not for himself, and not based on the fear of the consequences of his actions. It was worry for her. Wailing inside his mind like an alarm. Next to the worry she felt a pulsing, black sadness. She felt his shame. She felt his self-loathing. She felt his sadness. She found herself being swept up, flying through the air. Her mind had become fuzzy, and she lost focus on the world around her. The last thing she remembered was feeling Fox's loneliness, his agony at missing Krystal. She remembered falling in love with the man who had just seconds before tried to steal her life away.

She was brought back to the present by the acknowledgement of a warm weight on her side. She knew the pressure should hurt after her ordeal, but it didn't. She cracked her eyes open little by little, letting her eyes adjust slowly to the lights in the Great Fox sick bay. She reached her hand down to feel what was on top of her, only to find it wrapped in the hand of someone else. She looked down and saw Fox's hand over hers. His head was leaning on her side, his arm sprawled over the railing of her cot. He was sleeping gently. He wasn't dreaming, he wasn't thinking. He was sleeping, his mind completely blank. Carefully, she removed her hand from Fox's grip. He didn't stir. He simply continued to sleep by her side. She began to reach her hand down towards Fox's face. She made the slightest contact, and pulled back quickly. Still, he didn't stir, and his mind remained blank. She put her hand on his cheek and began to trace his features. She ran her hand over his head, stopping as she reached the nape of his neck. She went back and played with the small patch of white hair that had characteristically sat unkempt on the top of his head. Suddenly, she felt Fox's mind awaken. Almost instinctively, he nuzzled his head into her side. She chuckled softly to herself. She began to touch his muzzle, tracing his jawline and his snout. His eyes opened wearily, so that all she could see of them was the brilliant viridian of his iris and the black of his pupil.

"Could you go back to my head?" he sighed gently. She sensed contentment spilling off of him.

"Of course, Fox," she said. Despite all that had happened leading up to that moment in time, she felt nothing but affection for him. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so much affection toward anyone. Suddenly, a wave of familiar sadness rushed over Fox. He began to tear up. She watched the tears roll down his cheeks silently.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Kursed tried to comfort him. "It's okay," she sighed. And she meant it. Somehow, it was okay. Fox's head turned to face her completely, and his eyes opened up. She simply stared into his eyes, and he stared into hers. She felt the entire world fade away around them. She noticed that the tears had stopped running.

"No, it isn't okay. It may never be okay. But I'm going to try my hardest to _make_ it okay." She felt his sincerity. She felt his feelings of loss and confusion. "I've been so obsessed… So selfish. Because of someone who I can never have, and because of that, I've hurt the people around me, even when they didn't deserve it." She knew he was talking about what he had done, and she felt his sorrow emerge and mingle with all the other negative feelings plaguing his psyche.

"Shh," she whispered, trying to comfort him. "I mean it, everything will be okay." On an impulse, she picked Fox's head up slightly and brought her lips down on his forehead, just as she had done when he had finally escaped his nightmares from the past. She let them linger for a second, and inhaled gently through her nose. She let his scent wash over her. He smelled like the earth just after a rain storm. She watched as Fox's jaw went slack and his face turned bright red. She hadn't seen him do that since they were dating. He began to trip over his words.

"Wha-what was that?" he asked. She watched the red of his cheeks deepen a shade. She felt in him his self-loathing, she felt him feeling like he didn't deserve what had just happened. She slipped her hand under his muzzle, simultaneously raising his face to the same level as hers and preventing him from saying any more.

"That was a promise," she said. She stared into his eyes again. She felt a slight smile materializing on her face.

"But a promise of _what_?" asked the chestnut vulpine. She reached into his mind and felt the sadness coming back again. She leaned down and pressed her lips onto his head for the second time. _A promise that I will always love you_, she wanted to say. But she knew she couldn't. Not yet.

She gave him a gentle smile. "The promise that things will get better." She felt his sadness wash back. She moved her hand to the front of her head and let it run down to the nape of his neck. She repeated the action, letting the familiarity of it wash over her. She felt a small sense of recognition from Fox, mingled with confusion. He remembered it, too. Just as the sadness had been pushed back by her gentle caress, she felt his self-loathing slice back with a vengeance. He jerked his head free of her hand. She flinched, startled by the sudden movement which cut through the calm. She looked into his eyes, drinking in his sorrow. He began to move his head towards hers. She flinched again, startled by the motion, and immediately felt guilty. She sensed Fox's regret as he blamed himself for her nervousness. He raised his head up above hers, and put a gentle kiss on the top of her head, grazing her violet locks.

Kursed was confused, almost as confused as he had been when she kissed his head. "What was that for?" She felt the pain and the anger and the sadness that had consumed him since the beginning of her stay on the ship. But she also felt something else. A resolve bubbled up within him, stealing some of his misery away.

"That was a promise," he said as he sat there, stone-faced. Slowly, he got up from his seat and began to walk away. She didn't want him to leave.

"Fox?" her voice came out a tired rasp. He turned to look at her again, and she felt a virtual hailstorm of self loathing collapse on his head. Suddenly, their surroundings washed away again, leaving them both secluded from the rest of the universe. She watched him try to paint bravado onto his face, but she saw right through it. _Will you stay just a little longer? _She wanted so badly to ask that question. Instead, what escaped her lips was, "Why did you do it?" She felt the hailstorm turn into an avalanche, burying him. She wished desperately that she could reach in and save him.

She watched him sigh and swallow. "There's no way I can explain it in such a way that it makes sense," he started.

_It all makes sense, Fox, it's okay._

"The picture you accidentally broke was the last picture I had of myself and Krystal from when we were together. It was the one thing I could look at and remember what it was like to be happy." Kursed tried to remember the picture. She tried to remember what it was like to be Krystal. She tried to remember what it was like to be that happy. She didn't think she could. She felt tears form at the corners of her eyes, and her breathing became heavier.

"I did it because…" he started. Kursed laid there, waiting. She watched his eyes scan the far side of the room and his thoughts becoming derailed. "I did it because once you broke that picture, I was forced to realize that I hadn't been happy in a long time. I was forced to realize that I had scared off the best thing to ever happen to me. I was forced to look at myself in the mirror and admit that I was a monster." Fox turned sharply on his heel and left the room. Kursed felt herself welling up again.

"Fox," she cried to an empty room. "You're not a monster…"

* * *

_Author's Note:_

Phew, that was a tough chapter to write. I originally wanted this story to be more action packed, but I decided on changing it to a more emotional focus. My next one will be more action packed (I swear). I hope you're enjoying so far. I'm working really hard to crank these out. At 1 (and sometimes 2) a day, I think it's coming along pretty well.

Anyway, feel free to leave me a review letting me know what you thank. So far, I've gotten plenty of positive feedback (more tinder for the good ol' ego), and that's let me know that I'm on the right track. Also, feel free to send a PM if you have an idea for some Star Fox fanfiction when I wrap this story up in the next week or so.

_-**][**_nquerius


	5. Handle This

**C H A P T E R** _five_:

_**Handle This**_

_**

* * *

**_

Fox walked the long distance to the bridge completely and totally alone. His face was creased with resolve as his mind reeled from the sheer weight of what he was about to do. He reached the end of the hallway and palmed the scanner next to the gate. The door slid open silently and cold, metallic air rushed out to meet him. His face remained steely and unmoving as he walked to the main console.

He sat beside ROB64, who was whirring quietly and working to keep the ship maintained. Fox opened up the main communication display and began patching in a contact code. Just as he was about to hit the send button, he was alerted to someone trying to contact _him_. He recognized the number, and accepted the transmission. The smirking yellow beak and blue face of a familiar avian painted the large screen.

"Hey Falco," sighed Fox. He watched Falco stop for a second, examining him. His features immediately became soft and gentle.

"Hey Foxie," he said. "How are you?"

"I've been better," replied Fox. "It's been a really tough week for me. Between a job and some other stuff."

"Oh," said Falco. "Didn't know you were on a job. I initially called to check up on you and see if you wanted to tag along with the Star Falco team for a quick mission. We're gonna be stomping some pirates." Falco's face lit up in a grin.

"Ha," Fox laughed weakly. "Unfortunately, I'm a little busy at the moment. As it is, I won't be back in the Lylat system for about a week and a half."

"Oh," said Falco, repeating himself. "Seriously though, you doin' okay Foxie?"

Fox looked at him. Was his weariness that obvious, even from the avian's small display, hundreds of thousands of miles away? "No," he said honestly. "For some reason, I've been a wreck lately. More than usual."

"Is it… Her again?" Falco asked gently.

"That and a billion other things," said Fox. He pressed his eyes together. "This job has just been… Really draining on me. I think I'm gonna take a break after this one, get my sh*t together."

"Sounds good Fox," Falco said honestly. He examined the vulpine's face. "You look like you could use the reset. Anyway, I'll leave you to your stuff." The connection terminated, and Fox was alone on the bridge again. Carefully, Fox began entering in the contact code he was trying to reach before. He lightly tapped the send button, and waited to be patched through.

After patiently waiting for about fifteen seconds, a face appeared on the screen in front of him. A walrus with a thick mustache and tusks. Stereotypically, he was immense, but was wearing a custom-tailored suit. From the champagne in front of him and the cigar pressed between his lips to the diamond pinky rings on his finger, everything about him spoke of wealth and privilege. His face lit up when he saw Fox.

"Ahh! Mr. McCloud. I trust the mission is going well?" he adulated.

"About the mission," intoned Fox. The walrus' brows immediately began to knit together.

"Have you given up already? I had higher hopes than that, especially considering your reputation." The walrus said it as if it was a challenge. Obviously, he still was of the belief that Fox would continue and succeed with the mission.

"No, no," said Fox. "I have the target secured on board. I just have a request for you."

"Of course!" said the walrus, his greasy smile easing its way back onto his face. "Anything!"

"What would you say about letting me keep the target?" The walrus' features immediately darkened, and anger grew in his eyes. "I assure you, you'd be compensated," continued Fox.

"That is hardly the issue," spat the walrus. His multiple chins jiggled when he spoke with such intensity. "I am paying you to provide for me a service. You already have the target on board. I hardly see the issue with transporting her to my facility for pick up. As such, I expect the target to arrive _as scheduled_."

Fox shook his head slowly from left to right. "No can do. All the funds have been transferred back into your account. I'm sorry, but I can't let you get this one. I even compensated you for the time I've spent so far, so you're effectively reaping a profit."

The walrus' eyes went wide, and he swiveled his head to a computer screen behind him with more speed than Fox assumed him capable of. He turned back to Fox, his entire face a sneer. His anger had turned to rage. "Fox, if you cannot provide for me the target, I will simply have my _friends_ take care of both of you." His words came out as an angry hiss, and he barred his teeth as he spoke.

Fox shook his head slowly once more. "So be it." He glared at the walrus, not as a challenge, but as a confirmation of his steadfast decision. The walrus' face underwent another mutation, contorting itself into a cruel smirk.

"So be it," said the walrus. The transmission was terminated, and Fox leaned his head into his hands. _Why am I doing this?_ he thought. _The pay is great, it's been easy enough to __accomplish_. _Why did I just put both of us in danger?_ Fox turned his brain off for a second. Best not to think about it. Suddenly, ROB64 began whirring beside Fox with a greater intensity, and his metallic voice began bleeding through the ship's loudspeaker.

"Attention, Fox," orated ROB64. "A foreign object has been located in the laundry room. Your presence is expected for examination. Automatic ejection of the object will occur if this anomaly is not managed within twelve hours." Fox took the opportunity to sigh again.

"Understood ROB. It will be dealt with at my earliest possible convenience." Fox pushed himself up from the console and started toward the exit.

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He took his time walking back to his quarters, thinking about all that had happened and all that might happen. _I'm just not sure of anything anymore_, he thought.

He approached the doorway to his room and opened it gently. Everything was exactly as it had been left a little over two days ago. His night table was on its side, on the floor, and small shards of glass covered the carpet. "ROB!" yelled Fox.

"Yes, Fox?" ROB64 responded.

"Could you clean up the glass shards please?" Fox massaged his temples with his hands.

"Yes, Fox," ROB64 answered. A small remote vacuum darted out of a small latch on the far wall and zoomed to the glass fragments, inhaling them from the floor in front of him. When it verified that it had consumed all the glass, it putted back to into its latch and was once again hidden from view. Fox ambled toward the bed. Sitting on top of the covers was the picture. He picked it up and sat down on his small bed. Fox examined the picture dejectedly, haunted by the memories it brought back. It was of him and Krystal on Sauria, from when she was teaching him how to use the staff more effectively. It showed them each holding one end of the staff in one hand; their other hands being draped across the waist of the one next to them. They were both smiling, both so happy. He hadn't seen that staff since he chased her away. She had taken it with her, to start a new life elsewhere.

Fox began to tear up and put the picture down. He walked sadly into the bathroom and turned the lights all the way up. Getting undressed slowly, he piled himself into the shower. He began to scrub unceremoniously, simply cleaning for the sake of being clean. He finished in about ten minutes and began to dry himself off. He looked in the mirror. Despite having slept for two days, bags still hung heavily under his bloodshot eyes. His hair was damp and stayed relatively tame, but he could only imagine how he looked not twenty minutes ago, when he had spoken over the comm.

Fox sighed and went out into his room for some fresh clothes. He slid on a pair of boxers and a pair of baggy flannel pants. No need to dress up today. He dug through his drawers for a tee shirt, but couldn't find one. "Dammit, Rob," he muttered. _Oh well_, he figured. _ROB needed me to check the laundry room anyway_. He pushed his way out the door and trudged to the laundry room at the far end of the hallway. Inside, he found a basket of clean shirts. Selecting one at random, he put it on. It was a simple gray shirt with the Star Fox insignia emblazoned on his right breast and the larger Star Fox logo on his back.

"ROB," he ordered. "Display the anomaly." ROB64 took a few milliseconds to process, and whirred gently.

"Yes, Fox," replied ROB64 in his characteristic triturated voice. More whirring ensued, and a latch on the wall opened, revealing a small storage compartment. Inside were the black jeans Kursed had been wearing when Fox had taken her aboard the Great Fox.

"ROB?" bid Fox. "These are Kursed's pants. I fail to see an anomaly. Everyone wears pants." Despite his foul mood, the ridiculousness of the situation caused Fox to chuckle to himself.

"Negative," grated ROB64. "My sensors indicate that an object of unknown origin is inside the pants." Fox wasn't exactly comfortable with going through someone's pants, especially a female whom he had taken prisoner.

"ROB, are you sure that it's not just personal items?" Fox catechized. More whirring from the robot before a response.

"My sensors indicate the item to be made of several known and unknown metallic and crystalline substances. Otherwise, the warning would not have been issued." After saying that, ROB64 once again fell silent.

Fox exhaled gently and picked up the pants. He immediately felt something weighty shifting inside the right pocket. Fox was curious, but also cautious, fearing that the object might be a lethal weapon of some kind. He wrapped his hand around it and pulled it out slowly, finding that it sat comfortably in his palm. He removed it completely from the pocket and uncurled his fist to have a look. He examined it slowly, realization coming over him.

The realization blended seamlessly with confusion, and the confusion with a despondency that he didn't understand. He slowly began trekking back to the sick bay, his eyes blurred with tears.


	6. To All The Crowded Rooms

**C H A P T E R** _six:_

_**To All The Crowded Rooms**_

* * *

Kursed stared around the sick bay absentmindedly. She felt sad inside, a deep sadness that made her bones weary, but the horrid depression from before had lifted. Somehow, it had slowly dissipated during this long voyage. She could almost taste the change of mood in the atmosphere. Her thoughts were interrupted by the doors sliding open. Fox sauntered in. He sat down next to her and looked her hard in the face. His expression was unreadable, so she shifter her focus to peering inside of his mind. She went over the different emotions that were brewing inside. The sadness was still there, but with it came more. There was confusion, which too had become common in Fox's psyche. Guilt. Angst. And finally, Kursed stumbled across an emotion she hadn't felt from Fox during this whole experience. She felt a drop of hope. He continued to stare into her eyes, and she felt the hope spreading and rippling across his soul. It was still weak compared to his other emotions, but its presence was growing. Kursed smiled inwardly at this development.

Suddenly, Fox broke her concentration and the silence that surrounded them. "Your stay in the sick bay is over. According to ROB, you should be feeling basically back to normal," he stated, before tacking on: "Physically speaking." Kursed gawked at him. He had been so emotional the past few days. So open. Now it was as if they were back on Kew. He simply stated facts without revealing anything deeper. Kursed felt herself shrink. She tried to make her eyes cold, but in light of everything that had happened, she just couldn't manage it. She settled for a state of tired exasperation and began struggling to get up.

She twisted her feet away from Fox and began to get up with her back to him. She felt warm hands, one on her back and one on her shoulder, supporting her as she lifted herself from the hospital bed. She probed his mind as he helped her, sensing the hope growing. Admiration, too, trickled in. _What does he see in me? _she asked herself. _Does he see Kursed, the bounty hunter? Or something else?_ She brushed those thoughts away. Since they had met at that bar on Kew, Fox had only ever seen her as Kursed, his prey. She reprimanded herself internally. _You're reading too much into this_, she said. _Fox doesn't even recognize you anymore_.

"Thanks Fox," she said brusquely. She stood uncertainly, her legs feeling unstable underneath her. She felt Fox's eyes boring a whole into her head. She refused to turn around and make eye contact. She heard Fox sigh gently behind her and turn away.

"I'll meet you outside," he said. "I'd suggest changing out of the gown. Your clothes are in a bin behind the curtain. Meet me outside, we have something… Important, that needs to be discussed." He turned curtly and walked out the door.

Kursed stumbled to her clothes. _What a jerk!_ she thought. Tears stung at her eyes. _After all that's happened, all we've been through, he wants to discuss business! _She got dressed slowly, allowing herself time to stem the flow of tears and dry her reddening eyes. When she was finished, she walked outside of the sick bay, her legs still feeling treacherously weak. True to his word, Fox was waiting there, his back leaning against the wall and his head slumped forward. She noticed that he had showered and put on fresh clothes. He looked up at her, his eyes piercing in their examination, though not offensive. He jerked his head to the side, motioning her down the hallway.

"Let's head to my quarters," he said. "Like I said, we have something important to discuss." She continued to probe his mind. The hope and admiration she felt wafting off him seemed so out of balance with his recent impersonal attitude. She sighed inwardly and followed Fox down the length of the hallway. About halfway there, she tripped, and very nearly fell onto the ground. Fox caught her gently, before she could hurt herself. She felt Fox wrap one of his arms around her waist, while he simultaneously pulled her arm over his shoulders. He turned to face her, a light smile playing around his muzzle.

"You just got better. I would be crushed if you got hurt again." Kursed felt his words as he spoke them, realizing that the brief sentence was entirely genuine. She offered a meager smile in return, and nuzzled against him slightly.

"Thanks," she whispered into his ear. She looked at his face and saw him attempting to hide the blush developing on his cheeks. She took a second to laugh inwardly. _He hasn't blushed since we were dating, as far as I know_. They continued to press forward, making their way through the belly of the Great Fox. Finally, they arrived at Fox's room, which remained unlocked.

Kursed eased into the doorway, wary of bumping into anything and spilling herself onto the ground. Fox led her to the bed and put her down, giving her an opportunity to sit. She looked at the space around her and noticed that Fox had cleaned up since the incident. There was no glass on the floor, and the nightstand was upright. The picture sat on top of the newly-erect nightstand, still shrouded in its broken frame and pierced where it had met a sharp shard of glass. She sighed. It was a picture of them both on Sauria. She had been trying to teach him how to use the staff. Suddenly, she realized that she hadn't seen that staff since shortly before her visit to the hospital. She remembered putting it into her pocket and...

Before the realization of what had happened dawned on her, her attention was turned back to Fox, who had suddenly retrieved something from one of his drawers and turned around. He held in his hand a ring of small pieces of plastic, resembling SD cards. He kneeled in front of her and brought her foot onto his knee. He studied it, and sorted through the cards on the key ring. Selecting one, he removed it carefully. Kursed watched as he twisted her foot slightly to the side and placed the card onto a small notch into her anklet. It fit into place with a pop. Kursed watched in amazement as the red warning light faded from view and the anklet popped open. Fox looked up at her, his eyes wide and clear.

"What was that for?" she asked. Her eyes moved from Fox to her ankle, which was now free of any type of behavioral regulation device. Fox focused his gaze down onto the floor, at a point slightly to the left of the leg of the bed.

"I, uh," he began. He turned to look at her again. She watched his chest expand as he swallowed a large gulp of air, She felt anxiety in his mind, while the hope that began as a single drop was now an ocean. "I paid for your bounty," he said. "You're free to go." He looked back up at her, his eyes still wide and clear.

"But… Why?" Kursed asked. She felt herself beginning to tear up. _Why am I crying?_ she asked herself. Fox elevated himself slightly, bringing himself to eye-level. He looked at her with the same, probing, examining eyes he had used before. He slowly reached out and wiped a large tear from her cheek. Then he leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. He lingered there for what felt like years. Kursed was taken aback. The kiss took her breath away.

Fox pulled away and looked her dead in the eye. "Because I love you Krystal." Krystal watched through her tears as Fox began crying too. With little warning, he put his muzzle on hers again. This time, she reciprocated, taking Fox's face in her hands and pressing her mouth against his. Fox stood up slowly and wrapped his arms around her, pushing her gently onto the bed. Krystal, now fully aware that she was no longer "Kursed" to be alone, let him. He laid down on top of her as they continued their passionate embrace. They rolled over, caught in the throes of the kiss. Krystal was the first to come up for air.

"I missed you," she whispered into his ear. She felt Fox move one of his hands to the small of her back, while the other slid gently up to the nape of her neck.

"I missed you too," he whispered back. They both turned back to each other, and re-united. Their love, which had apparently died long ago, was rekindled. As the night waned, they fell asleep in each other's arms, lost in the first joyous sleep they had experienced as a whole for a long while.

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Fox awoke to see Krystal in front of him, toying with her hair. He wiggled his feet, feeling them intertwined with hers. He sighed, but with joy instead of longing. Krystal didn't look at him, but spoke to him quietly. "I guess I should probably get some dye remover…"

"You should die it bright green," he replied. Fox grinned at her, his first honest grin in what felt like forever. Krystal looked to him and they made eye contact. She soon responded to his lopsided grin with one of her own. Fox moved toward her and kissed her again. "I missed you so much," he said. He felt like he was on the verge of tears. "I was an idiot to force you away."

Fox watched Krystal lean over and place a gentle kiss on his lips. "I missed you, too," she said. "I was an idiot for leaving." Fox watched small tears begin forming on the sides of her eyes. He offered her another grin.

"Hey, hey hey," he whispered. "Let's not have a fight on our first day back together over who the bigger idiot is. Lord knows, I'd win anyway." Krystal giggled quietly, her tears receding. Fox exhaled gently and brushed some of the violet hair from her brilliant tourmaline eyes. He was pleased that, with all that had happened, he could elicit that reaction from her.

Fox smiled sincerely as he felt Krystal snuggle against his bare chest. It was so warm under the covers. Fox never wanted to get up. He simply wanted to lay there and enjoy that perfect moment forever. Unfortunately, it was rudely interrupted by biology as Fox's stomach rumbled slightly. He cursed it silently before realizing that he hadn't eaten in three days. He felt Krystal chuckle into his fur. "You want me to make you some food?" she asked.

Fox looked at her, his jaw hanging open in a deliberately melodramatic fashion. "You? Make _me_ food? No, no, no, I can't allow it. Please, give me the opportunity to prepare _you_ something instead." Fox felt Krystal lift her head, and he watched as she leaned her face forward. Their lips met in another deep, passionate kiss. They pulled away at the same time, and Krystal began snuggling into the nook beneath Fox's chin.

"How about," Krystal began. "We both get up and make food together?" Fox grinned again. He felt joy coursing through his veins, liquid sunshine. He moved his head slowly from side to side and began whispering into her ear.

"Krystal, I would love nothing better." They peeled themselves up from the bed and got dressed. As soon as they were finished, Fox slipped one of his arms behind Krystal's legs and another behind her back. He lifted her up bridal style and began carrying her toward's the ship's galley.

"Fox!" she laughed, surprised at his actions. Fox looked down at her. _Everything about her is perfect,_ he thought. _Why did I ever force her to leave? _Krystal looked back at Fox, and Fox sensed her presence probing around inside his mind. Reading his thoughts, she smiled and pulled their faces together in another warm kiss.

"Best not to dwell on the past," she said. "After all, I'd like to hope we have a long future together that deserves our focus." Fox beamed. He felt his heart swell with exuberance. It was like he had been dead for millennia, and Krystal's love had brought him back. It made him feel human, it made him feel whole. Fox felt Krystal snuggle into his chest again as he continued trekking to the galley. He couldn't believe that the love of his life was back in his arms.

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_Author's Note: _

Hope you like it, because it was a doozy to write! Chapter 7 will be coming around soon, as will the prologue to my next story. It will be a story told from the perspective of Marcus McCloud (yes, a "children of Star Fox" story). The working title is _**Star Fox:**** ProGenesis**_. It's shaping up to be an interesting write. Also, look forward to some more action in the near future. Just because Krystal and Fox have reunited doesn't mean that they're out of the woods yet!

**-_][_**nquerius


	7. Kaleidoscope

**C H A P T E R** _seven_:

_**Kaleidoscope**_

_**

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**_

The only audible sounds were calm crackles emanating from a pan on the stove and the gentle whistle of a tea kettle warming up. Fox took a deep breath through his nose. The domesticity that surrounded him should have felt so foreign, and yet it enshrouded the entire ship with a calm warmth. It was as if the atmosphere itself had simply sighed the world into existence, gently shaping it into something tangible. The air no longer felt cold and mechanical; it felt inviting and kind. It was like the homecoming of an old friend. Fox focused back on the task at hand and began sifting through the eggs on the skillet in front of him with a spatula.

He heard quiet steps approach him from behind, and thought back to only a week ago. At that time, any action which could be perceived as an attack had been met by Fox with a swift response. More often than not, said response resulted in a trip to the hospital for the attacker. Fox though back and realized that he wasn't that person any more. He grinned to himself, and watched as two blue arms wrapped themselves tenderly around his waist. Through his shirt, he felt Krystal begin nuzzling the small patch of fur between his shoulder blades. The moment felt as if it had been sanctified somehow.

He felt Krystal gently probing his mind and peering into his emotions. He felt her stumble across his beatitude and share in it, bringing them together with a closeness that required no words to be spoken. Neither one sought to break the calm spell which had overspread the ship. Fox continued to negotiate the eggs until he deemed them ready for consumption. Gently, he eased the omelet off the skillet and onto a plate to his left. The tea kettle began blinking, indicating that it too was ready to be served. Fox felt Krystal's arms slide away from him as she picked up the kettle. They both sauntered to the round booth which housed the table.

There was already some food there, from earlier preparation. Sheets of toast sat contentedly on plates while strips of bacon sat curled on a serving rack. The vulpine quietly took food onto their dishes and ate. Fox took a second to let the comfort simply enshroud him. He watched Krystal eat and smiled. Krystal looked up and offered him an amatory mien in response. Fox drank it in briefly before turning to his food and slowly filling his empty stomach.

As time crawled forward, the food left on the table dwindled. Fox leaned back in his seat and exhaled gently through his mouth. He patted his stomach contentedly. The vixen beside him leaned back as well, leaning her head into his shoulder. Fox turned slowly and kissed her on the head with a gentle kindness. He heard her sigh contentedly into his ear.

"I don't remember the last time I felt so… So…" she trailed off. Fox pondered her words. He knew exactly what she meant.

"Happy," he whispered. Krystal snuggled further into his neck and exhaled.

"Precisely," she replied. The two vulpine clasped hands and allowed themselves the moment of joy. Moments like these had been scarce for far too long in their lives. Fox wished he could freeze the moment and let it play out into eternity, but he was all too aware of the forward march of time. He had been only twenty-six when he first met Krystal, and was now thirty-one. The five years in between the two had changed him drastically, for the better or for the worst. However, as he sat there completely consumed by his own contentment, he couldn't help but feel that the "better" had finally won out. He exhaled slowly and turned to whisper in Krystal's ear.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, but I need to get to the comm," the words came out gently. Fox felt Krystal hum her understanding demurely into his neck. He chuckled and began to lift himself up so that he could slide out of the booth. He felt Krystal following closely behind him. Fox left the booth and brushed the small crumbs off of his clothes. He watched with admiration as Krystal did the same. "ROB!" he yelled. Krystal winced at the sudden noise. Fox immediately offered her an apologetic smile.

"Yes, Fox?" ROB64 vocalized.

"Could you take care of the mess left over from breakfast?" Fox asked. A gentle whirring filled the room.

"Yes, Fox," responded ROB64. Fox felt Krystal's hand slip tenderly into his own.

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Their fingers had interlaced as they left the galley. Hanging a quick left, they made their way to the bridge. They took their time, enjoying simply being in the presence of the other. They had walked nearly half-way to their destination before Fox broke the silence.

"Krystal," he started. She looked at him inquisitively, but with a small grin. He appreciated the fact that she wasn't reading his mind right now, as he wanted to say this out loud. "I cannot describe in words how sorry I am. For everything. I pushed you away and followed that up by moping. Then you were back, and what did I do? I hurt you. I didn't even know it. I should have known, I should have--"

His words were cut off by two soft lips meeting his own. The kiss was gentle and ardent. Their lips lingered, pressed into each other. They went no further. They didn't have to. The kiss was a materialization of both love and forgiveness. They mutually broke away and simply looked into the other's eyes. Fox knew that words couldn't possibly describe the current situation, but he tried.

"This has been the craziest, scariest, oddest, most amazing, most wonderful, most confusing week of my life," he stated. Without breaking eye contact, he continued: "And I love you." Krystal gave Fox an understanding grin.

"You think this is confusing," said Krystal. "Just wait until we have kids." She immediately blushed, realizing what she had just implied. Fox's pupils dilated and his eyes widened measurably. She began to stutter. "I mean, what I was saying was… The thing is, it's just--" It was Krystal's turn to be interrupted with a kiss. This one was longer and more passionate. Fox placed one hand on the small of her back and used the other to massage the nape of her neck, while Krystal's hands moved silently to his waist and the back of his head. The kiss lasted several lifetimes to the amorous couple; several heavenly, blissful lifetimes.

They pulled away again and smiled at each other, their arms still holding them together in a tender embrace. They removed their hands and Fox and Krystal found themselves clasping paws and walking down the corridor once again. They reached the bridge, and Fox palmed the scanner beside the entrance. The door slid open and ushered them inside. They walked towards the main console in the center of the room. ROB64 was buzzing lightly and carrying out his standard duties. Fox reluctantly let go of Krystal's hand and sat down in front of the main communication display.

He ran through his contact list and selected the contact code belonging to "Lombardi, F." The screen displayed a steadily-cresting sine wave as proof that it was attempting to contact the selected individual. Suddenly, the screen blinked to life and Falco Lombardi appeared on the display. Fox offered a slight smile.

"Hey, Falco," his grin widened at the avian's bedraggled appearance.

"Foxie, as much as I like you, why are you contacting me so early?" Fox peered down at the clock on the display. A glowing "12:00" turned itself into a glowing "12:01". Fox looked up at the beryl avian and offered a wry chuckle.

"Falco, it's past twelve o'clock," prodded Fox. The avian on the display rubbed his eyes and turned to look behind him._ Probably checking the clock_, thought Fox. He was amused at the avian's suspiciously vacant sense of time. Falco turned back to Fox, still appearing tired, but more awake than he had been.

"So it is, Fox, so it is," Falco paused and stared at Fox for a moment. Fox offered a large grin in return. "You look like you're feelin' better Foxie. You finally get over it?" Fox stared at the avian and offered a quick shake of his head. Falco sighed audibly. "Dammit Fox! We don't know where she is, Wolf doesn't know where she is. For all we know, she could be buried alive, or in the bottom of the sea, or--" Fox cut the avian off.

"For all _you_ know," he said. Fox felt his grin widen. He could only imagine how insane he must have looked to his startled friend. Falco's jaw hung slightly slack.

"What do you mean 'you,' Fox? What are 'you,' playing at?" implored Falco. Fox turned away from the communication display to face Krystal, who had been watching and listening as the conversation unfurled. She was wearing a slight grin on her muzzle. He stared into her ultramarine eyes and admired her for a brief second.

"Want to say 'hi' to an old friend?" whispered Fox. Krystal scooted towards him calculatedly, but Fox was impatient. In one swift motion, he scooped her up into his arms and held her close to him, on top of his lap. She laughed gleefully, amused at Fox's behavior. Fox turned back to the display so that Falco could see him and Krystal. Falco's eyes expanded, earning him a laugh from the two giddy vulpine. Krystal leaned toward the camera.

"Hi Falco," she stated. "How are you?" Her tone was conversational, as if they spoke every day. This only earned more confusion for the befuddled avian. Fox observed Falco's face shift rapidly from confusion, to happiness, to annoyance. After a few seconds, Falco settled on an intermediate between being pleased for the reunited couple and annoyed with their behavior.

"Damn," said Falco. He added a short whistle to enhance his statement. "No wonder Foxie was having hell to pay yesterday. Glad to see you're happy, at least." Fox nodded at his friend, still smiling. Krystal joined him. Falco's eyes moved from one to the other as he struggled to think of something else to say. This amused both vulpine, who again shared a laugh. This was followed by a quick peck on the lips, just to prove that they were together again for Falco. Even Falco laughed, pleased that his friend was finally himself again.

Suddenly, Fox's face became pursed. "Falco, on a serious note," he began. The bird snapped to attention and turned his attention to Fox. "We may or may not be currently threatened by the possibility of an attack from a mister Ben Marius. He's dangerous. If you can scare up any info, send it over. I'll send you everything I have on him in a little bit." Falco nodded solemnly. The mood lightened again as the conversation shifted towards personal matters. After a short period of time, Fox and Krystal said their goodbyes.

Fox stood up, still holding Krystal in his arms. He kissed her lovingly on the head. "You know," chortled Krystal. "I could get used to this." Fox sighed happily, and his tail started to wag. He gave her another kiss.

"Please do," said Fox. He felt Krystal inside his mind as she experienced Fox's happiness in the first-person. She offered him a tender smile and nuzzled under his chin. Fox felt his heart melt and simultaneously beat thunderously in his chest.

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They left the bridge and began to wander aimlessly through the Great Fox. They spoke, and hugged, and kissed. They talked about how they had spent their time apart. They watched the movie they had seen together on their first date. The ship began to adjust the light levels to match the time of day, forcing the amorous couple to walk back to their room in the dark.

A couple of hours later, they were both lying down in their bed. Fox had one of his arms wrapped around Krystal's shoulders, while the other was draped across her midriff. Krystal rubbed her face onto Fox's bare chest before looking up. Even in the dark, she could make out his brilliant emerald eyes. Fox returned her gaze and admired the endless blue of Krystal's irises. They kissed lightly.

Fox wanted to keep looking into Krystal's eyes, and found himself moderately disappointed when she rolled them to the ceiling. "It was nice," she said. Fox was unsure of what she meant.

"You mean, what just, um, _happened_?" Fox asked nervously. She turned back to him, and the eye contact pacified him immediately. She offered him a wide grin followed by a brief giggle. He smiled back at her.

"No," started Krystal. "Not _that_. That was better than nice. That was… _Wow_." Her words were breathy and hushed. Fox felt his heart sing, just listening to her speak. Still, he was curious to know what she meant, so he inquired further.

"Then what?" he asked. Krystal mulled it over in her mind. Fox watched her face as she thought. Even deep in concentration, Krystal could sense Fox's thoughts. She chuckled heartily and responded to him.

"Talking to Falco. Seeing a friend. There are so many people I haven't seen in forever. Corneria must be so different now." Then, just to amuse herself, she continued. "By the way, I'm glad you appreciate it Fox. I think it's rather nice as well. We might try that later." She watched Fox for a couple of seconds as his face turned scarlet red. She closed her eyes and clucked softly, nuzzling herself into his chest. Fox exhaled and felt his eyes flutter to a close as well. They both went to sleep, content to know that the first thing they would see upon waking was the one they loved.

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_Author's Note_:

Hey-o! I was looking at my account today and it dawned on me that I hadn't updated in 4 days! EEK! Okay then, chapter 7! More fluff, more happiness. Too bad some new sh*t is about to hit the fan. Also, the prologue for my follow-up **_Star Fox: Progenic Chronicles _**is going up. It's pretty rough, but I figure I have time to develop it a little more, especially considering the fact that I won't actually be starting chapter 1 until I wrap this story up in 8 more chapters...

**-_][_**nquerius


	8. Eva the Carrier

**C H A P T E R**_ eight_:

_**Eva the Carrier**_

_**

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**_

After another night of the most wonderful sleep he had experienced in a year, Fox woke up. He blinked hard and focused his eyes on the ceiling that spilled out above him. _I should wake Krystal up as well,_ he thought. He turned in the direction of the love of his life only to find the bed empty on her side. The sheets remained neat, undisturbed, as if they hadn't been slept in for a matter of weeks. Fox sat bolt upright, confused. He raced out of the room and began frantically searching the hallways and rooms aboard the Great Fox.

"Krystal!" he shouted. His voice echoed briefly against the cold metal of the ship. "Krystal!" She was nowhere to be found. Fox rushed to the bridge of the ship. Upon entering, ROB64 whirred to life.

"Fox, what should we do with Krystal's quarters?" droned the robot. Fox simply stared back, quizzically.

"What do you mean 'quarters'? Krystal has been staying in my room. Where is she?"

The robot whirred again. "Krystal left to re-join Star Wolf after your confrontation yesterday." Fox felt himself go slack-jawed, his mind reeling.

"What? What!? That was a year ago!" He started flailing blindly, kicking and punching the air around him as if he was at battle with a phantom. "No!" he shouted. "No! No! No!" The room offered no remorse. He sucked himself into fetal position. "No, no, no, no, no," the word spilled out, over and over. "No." He felt tears wet his cheeks.

At long last the words and the tears stopped, and Fox simply laid down on the floor of the bridge gasping for air._Why?_ he asked himself. His thoughts were askew. _What? Why? How is this happening? Why?_

Suddenly, an uncharacteristic warmth surrounded him. A feeling of love that washed throughout his veins. A familiar feeling. _Familiar how? _He could swear that he heard a muffled voice calling his name.

"Fox, wake up…" it lulled. "I'm here. It's okay. Wake up, Fox. Follow my voice." Slowly, the nightmare faded from around him. Fox stared, seeing only the blackness of the inside of his eyelids, the warmth caressing him and comforting him.

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Krystal had felt the nightmare start before it had even begun to play inside Fox's head. Such a feeling of loss and sorrow. She cracked open her eyelids, seeing on the darkness of the room around her. Her lover laid next to her, his face taking on a grayish hue as his hands gripped the blanket in front of him tightly. Cold sweat formed over his brow, and his mouth began to move slightly as his teeth ground against each other.

She sat bolt upright and put her hands on his temples, feeding off of his emotions and his mind. She ran through his thoughts and dreams, observing them as they rushed through his mind. She watched his nightmare like it was a horror film. She cringed as she felt Fox's heart sink. He was dreaming about her being gone again. Her face transformed from a cringe into a grim slash of determination as she set about freeing Fox from his nightmares.

_Fox, wake up,_ she thought. _I'm here. It's okay. Wake up, Fox. Follow my voice_. She felt the nightmare loosen its grip on Fox's mind and smiled to herself. His mind moved from a state of intense sadness to one of comfort and warmth. His fingers relaxed, leaving deep wrinkles in the blanket where they had been. His face relaxed and his mouth turned upward until it became a small smile. She took her hands away and sighed happily. She gave him a quick peck on the forehead and checked the clock on the nightstand. The numbers 06:45 glowed back at her.

Krystal laid back down and tried to fall back asleep, but her thoughts kept her awake. They played through her mind repetitively, dancing to an unheard rhythm. She thought back to how her present situation had come about. She remembered. She remembered leaving Fox and going to Panther as revenge. She remembered the insults they had hurled at her, endless faces chanting, "Traitor!" with malice. She remembered taking off in her CloudRunner, leaving Lylat behind.

She had taken up residence in Ecaps. To disguise herself from the eyes of those around her, she had changed her hair and her name, adopting a different style of dress and a different profession. She had become accustomed to her life as a bounty hunter when Fox unknowingly intruded, leading her up to where she was now. _Lylat…_ she thought. She remembered back to a little over two years ago, when she had first lain eyes on the city of Corneria. She thought of the apartment she had shared with Fox and wondered what had become of it. She thought of walking through the city in the summer, enjoying the warmth of the sun as she sat on Fox's lap and they watched the sunset.

_Sauria. How long has it been?_ She wondered. Surely there was still activity. What had become of Tricky and the rest of the dinosaurs? She felt small, knowing that she had so much to catch up on. She turned to look at Fox again. He seemed so content in his slumber. He began to mumble to himself, under his breath. Krystal couldn't make out the words, so she reached over and placed her hands on his temples once more, letting his dream wash over her.

She found herself in a white dress, standing next to Fox. He was wearing a tuxedo, and their arms were linked. A man in a robe stood before them, speaking softly. Finally, he looked up at them and concluded his speech. "I now pronounce you husband and wife." Krystal gasped and turned her head to look at Fox. Fox turned to her, his teeth gleaming in a wide smile. He was radiating joy from the very bottom of his soul. Their eyes met, and they moved towards each other, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. It took Krystal's breath away. A cheer came from an unseen audience.

They broke off the kiss and looked into each other's eyes. Krystal felt so much warmth in the emerald sea of his gaze. Suddenly, a minor buzzing pushed through the fabric of the dream, growing in intensity. She shut her eyes tight, knowing that the dream would disappear the moment she opened them again.

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Fox was pushed from the most pleasant of dreams by the irritating buzzing of his alarm clock. He turned his neck and stared at it with malice, daggers shooting from his eyes. Lazily, he swiped at it, successfully turning it off. He turned his attention toward the warm weight bearing down on his chest. He looked down and smiled at Krystal, who was curled into a tight ball, on top of him. _Maybe I should wake her up_, he thought. Still, he had to look at her for a couple of seconds. She had tried changing her name and her appearance to escape the trouble she ran into in the Lylat system, and they still found themselves together. He shifted his weight slightly and felt Krystal snuggle closer into his chest. Fox leaned back onto his pillow and allowed himself a sigh of contentment. His mind began to wander slowly.

His first thoughts were of Corneria, and the apartment they had shared in Corneria City. It was an apartment that had been left to him by his father. He couldn't remember staying in it long before he had met Krystal, and he couldn't remember staying there after Krystal had left him. He mused on that for a few seconds before a realization dawned on him. _It's because I feel most at home when I'm with her_. He stared up at the ceiling and grinned. He couldn't help it. Pure, unadulterated jubilance ripped through his body like a tidal wave.

Absentmindedly, he curled a piece of Krystal's violet hair in one of his fingers. Her blue roots were coming in again. He moved his hand and traced the white markings on her arms. He tallied up the days they had spent on board. It was day eight, leaving another week before they reached Corneria. _That's fine with me_, thought Fox. _The more time I can spend with my wife, the better_. Fox blinked once, and corrected himself. _Girlfriend, not wife… God, I hope Krystal didn't hear that. What would she think?_

He felt Krystal move on his chest again, adjusting her head until it was only centimeters from his own. She cracked open an azure eye and stared at him. "She'd say 'yes,'" she whispered. Fox caught his breath caught in his throat. He leaned forward and gave Krystal a long, tender kiss.

"I feel so inadequate," he said with a shy grin. "I don't even have a ring to give you." Krystal closed her eyes and smiled. Fox felt her nuzzle gently under his chin. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. For a long while, they sat in contentment, enjoying the company of the other. Suddenly, something dawned on Fox. "Krystal, I have something I need to show you."

Krystal still laid lazily on his chest, unwilling to move. "Mhm?" she asked. Fox chuckled and drew her up further into his arms. He lifter her as he had done so many times before and walked towards the window in his room. It was shut tight, revealing nothing of the outside world.

"ROB," began Fox. "Open the large window in my quarters." He kissed Krystal until she opened both her eyes and looked at him. She smiled and sighed lightly.

"I could get used to waking up like this," she giggled a little bit and nuzzled into Fox's chest. Fox felt his tail wagging wildly behind him, a huge grin spreading over his lips.

"I could get used to waking you up. Of course, we would probably have to share the same room, live in the same house, you know…" His voice trailed off and he offered the blue vixen a wide grin.

"Didn't I already say yes?" Krystal responded. She lifted her muzzle up and her lips met his. They met in a brilliant kiss. Meanwhile, the window in front of them was peeling itself open, revealing the stunning spacescape just beneath the ship. A planet sat before them, rippling with brilliant blues and greens, while violets and browns bathed the sides. A swath of gold cut across the whole of the planet as light from a distant star reflected off the surface. Fox heard Krystal gasp, and he grinned to himself.

"Is that… Is that…" her voice got caught in her throat. Fox nuzzled his cheek against the top of her head and whispered in her ear.

"Sauria." Krystal turned her head and kissed Fox. The passion was overwhelming. She slipped from his grasp and planted her feet firmly on the ground without breaking the kiss. She allowed her hands to roam across his muscular figure. Fox felt the hairs on the tip of his ears stand on end as Krystal massaged the back of his neck with one of her hands. He melted into the kiss. After a long time, Krystal took his face into her hands and broke away, leaning her forehead against his.

"Krys," panted Fox, out of breath. "I love you." Krystal looked into his eyes and smiled. Their eyes were no longer as tired and sad as they had been only days ago.

"I love you, too," breathed Krystal. They broke away from each other and began scavenging for clothes. Fox became aware that he was out of flannel pants. Sighing just a bit, he slipped on a tee-shirt and a sleeveless jumpsuit. Krystal worked her way into a tee shirt and a pair of jeans, as she was also out of looser clothing.

"All dressed up and nowhere to go," sighed Fox. Krystal moved to his side and slid her paw into his. They stood and watched Sauria float by, silently admiring it's beauty. Suddenly, Fox had an idea. "ROB," he said.

"Yes, Fox," crackled the robot.

"Prepare two Arwings with overnight gear. We're going to the surface." Krystal looked up at Fox, surprised. His eyes met hers and he grinned. "Care for a short vacation?"

Krystal kissed him on the nose and giggled. "Just one modifier," she began. Fox nodded quickly. "Last one to the surface has to set up camp… _Naked_." Fox blushed heavily. Krystal broke away from him and darted toward the door. Realizing what had just happened, Fox sped after her. They were so engrossed in their love that they didn't realize that several unknown ships were approaching the Great Fox...

* * *

_Author's Note:_

I'm not gonna lie, I hate this chapter. I think it's one of my worst. If I can find a way to improve it, I will, believe me. Hopefully, the next one will make up for it. Don't stop reading just because this chapter sucks the big one. It'll get better, I promise.


	9. Parabola

**C H A P T E R** _nine:_

_**Parabola

* * *

**_

Fox tucked his brush between his legs and rolled behind the boulder adjacent to him. He kept his body low, but cautiously peered to the side. In his periphery, he was able to make out the shadows of his approaching assailants. He cursed quietly to himself as shots of plasma whizzed past his fur. The lethal shots left nothing but the smell of ozone in front of Fox's nose and scorch marks where they made contact. Slowly, Fox pulled an MSB —a bomb with motion-sensing capabilities— from his belt. He engaged it and placed it just next to himself. Green and red lights emanated faintly from LEDs beaded on the front.

He could hear the ground depress slightly and dead leaves crinkle as the foot steps came closer. _Krystal, _he thought. _Where are you? Are you hurt?_ He waited for some kind of response, but none came. He cursed quietly again, sliding around the side of the boulder as the footsteps approached. It wasn't long before his attackers unwittingly triggered the clandestine MSB, blowing them into oblivion. Fox took advantage of the explosion to dart out from the area, keeping low and ducking frequently to avoid possible sniper fire.

He had crawled up twenty feet to the north and was resting behind a large schist when a nearby rustling alerted him. He was wary of attackers, so he immediately pulled a flash bang from his belt. He approached the source of the rustling, a large shrub, shrewdly; his thumb hovering over the arming button of the grenade. When he was within five feet of the shrub, he was surprised into inaction by a swift movement that launched him backwards. He hit the schist behind him and felt his tongue lull out of his head momentarily. Blood leaked down his brow from an unseen source.

A figure approached him, but he was well aware that he was too incapacitated from the concussion to be of much help. He yelled into his mind, shouting his love to Krystal and fearing that his life was about to end. Suddenly, the figure ducked, giving Fox a moment to examine their face in his current state. He was overwhelmed with surprise at the blue avian who stood before him. "Falco," he whispered, his voice nearly silent.

Falco grabbed ahold of Fox's wrist and began to take his vital signs, concern apparent on his visage. Upon ascertaining that, aside from the concussion, Fox was fine, Falco withdrew a minute autoinjector from a first-aid kit on his belt. Fox watched through bleary eyes as Falco brought the autoinjector down hard onto his thigh. He cringed a little bit at the pain brought by the pressure and the needle, but remained inert as the drugs marched through his system. He felt his vision clear and he felt the pain slip away as the blend of ibuprofen lysinate and epinephrine perforated his system.

Finally able to turn to his friend, Fox nodded gently. "Thanks," he whispered. Falco simply nodded in return. Fox began to lift himself up from the ground, his legs feeling weak beneath him. Falco rushed to his aid, supporting the struggling vulpine's arms. Slowly, the two staggered away from the area, with Falco leading the way. He brought Fox to a small clearing nestled in the forest. Inside this clearing rested the SkyClaw, Falco's personal star-fighter. Sitting Fox down just outside the ship, Falco ran to get more supplies. Fox simply stretched his legs out before him and tried to regain his coordination while Falco rummaged through the ship.

Returning with a hefty amount of medical tape, gauze, and a fiberglass casting sheet. Falco wound the tape around the top of Fox's head, securing gauze over the wound. He then took the fiberglass casting sheet and folded it to the necessary size before taping it over the gauze. From there, he simply removed a small UV gun and cured the fiberglass quickly. Fox simply observed his friend's rapid movements and sat still, not wanting to disturb the process.

When Falco was finished he sat down and faced Fox. "Man, are you in deep sh*t, Fox," started Falco. Fox grinned at his friend's typical behavior and shook his head slowly. Falco chuckled and became serious again. "That guy you wanted me to check out, Marius… Suffice it to say that he doesn't take nothing from no one. He wants something done, it gets done. He don't care how. People who deal with this walrus get killed, man." Fox nodded solemnly.

"So I take it he wants me dead?" asked Fox. Falco simply nodded grimly in response. "Figures," sighed Fox. "What about Krystal? He wanted her alive." Falco's eyes swelled inside his head.

"Dude, Marius' guys got her," Falco said softly. Fox felt his heart hammering in his chest. He felt anger swell in the pit of his stomach as his eyes turned red with rage. He didn't even know why Marius wanted Krystal so bad, all he knew is that he had lost Krystal once and refused to lose her ever again. Fox stood up quickly and looked his friend in the eyes.

"You know what I have to do now, right?" he asked Falco quietly. Falco shook his head, feeling unsure of the situation. Fox sighed gently and blinked his eyes before responding. "First, we wipe out his boys who were hunting for me. Then, we find him. Finally," Fox turned away and marched toward the SkyClaw, preparing for battle. Perching himself on the wing, he looked at his friend. "Finally, I kill the b*st*rd with my bare hands." Falco felt a grin form on his face. He got up and marched toward his ship, ready to help out his friend.

+-+-+-+-+

The first thing Krystal noticed was the stale breeze that was washing over her person. This was followed shortly by the sound of wheels creaking beneath her and the inconsistent glow of fluorescent bulbs overhead. Krystal groaned, her mind spinning as she tried to get a grasp on her surroundings. She felt sick. After mulling it over, she remembered the chain of events. She and Fox had gone to Sauria on a whim, simply filled with the merriment of being together again. Suddenly, they were attacked by mercenaries they had never run across before. Fox and her had split up in an attempt to confuse them, but Krystal had been overtaken by the faster aggressor. She remembered his knees digging into her back and a small prick on the back of her neck before the world in front of her melted.

She didn't know how she had ended up where she was, but she assumed that the man who employed Fox to capture her, Marius, had something to do with it. She attempted to lift herself from the cot she was in, but found it impossible when the realization hit that she was restricted by leather constraints on her arms and legs. "Damnit!" she muttered.

"Such a dirty word from such a pretty face," said a voice. Krystal only looked around, shocked. She had been so focused on her predicament that she hadn't realized another person was in the room with her. "Now, now. I assure you, it will be fine." The voice spoke casually and reasonably, but it still made Krystal shudder. The voice had a smarminess —an edge that didn't sit well with her— that made her worry. She heard the sound of someone heavy approaching her. Turning her head, she was able to make out the massive outline of Ben Marius. As he came closer, she could see his rolls of blubber quivering inside of his suit.

"Oh my dear Kursed," he sighed. He rested one of his gray hands on her head. She immediately snapped at him, and his hand moved away quickly to avoid the vixen's teeth. His eyebrows turned down at the ends and his mouth transformed into an angry grimace. "Dear Kursed," he said. "That is no way to treat your jailor. We wouldn't want any unfortunate incidences, would we?" His voice dripped of irony, which he wielded like a dagger. The anger immediately evaporated from Krystal's face as concern for her own safety took over. "There, there," hummed Marius. "Don't worry. I simply wish to keep you here long enough to punish you for what you did to my good friend."

The confusion must have been obvious on Krystal's face, because Marius became enraged. "You don't remember?! You cannot recall taking the life of a person I valued?!" Krystal felt gobs of his spit land on her face. Internally, she felt disgusted, but she said nothing, and her face remained blank. Krystal felt Marius subdue his rage before he started speaking again. His voice was quiet. "My friend, Ophelia Fenson, who you so rudely dispatched." Krystal thought back and was able to summon the job from her memory. Ophelia was a she-wolf wanted for crimes that could be a chapter unto themselves. Many people had cheered when she was taken out, and Krystal was pleased at the bounty she received.

"Either way," said Marius. "I will be making it up to her, my dear Ophelia." Krystal felt the loss in his heart, but refused to feel sorry for him because of the predicament she faced. His eyes wandered away as he spoke. He turned back to her and grabbed a hold of her muzzle, clamping it shut. "I will make it up to her by giving her_ you_." His eyes locked with hers. She could feel hatred pouring out of him. Probing deeper, she was able to see what he intended for her. She shuddered, cold chills racing up and down her spine and making her unable to move. Marius grinned at her and abruptly waddled from the room.

Krystal tried to relax on her cot, feeling afraid and alone. She tried to organize her thoughts and come up with an escape plan, but her mind constantly wandered. Every time she tried to think her mind twisted back to the same thing. _Fox…_ she thought. _I'm here. With Marius. Save me. Please. _Her eyes began to well with tears at the idea that she might never see Fox again. How badly she wanted to close her eyes and open them to him lying next to her, a goofy grin plastered across his face. How desperately she wished to invade his dreams and playfully toy with his thoughts. She simply laid there, alone.

+-+-+-+-+

Fox toyed with a handheld communicator he had taken off of the body of one of Marius' men. He was piloting one of their ships, a souped-up version of a midline unit, toward Marius' base. Even he had to whistle as he approached it. From a distance, it registered both visually and to scanners as an asteroid. However, upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a base with an advanced cloaking mechanism to deter unwanted pests. Fox peered out the cockpit at Falco, who was also piloting an enemy ship. Falco made eye contact with Fox, and his voice crackled from the communication system.

"Hey Foxie, we got a plan?" asked Falco. Fox took a second to ponder it before responding. He leaned into the mic and began speaking:

"Here's the plan, we get in. From there, we creep around until we find Krystal. Once we get our hands on her, we bust sh*t up and leave." He leaned back into his seat and heard Falco's unruly chuckle,

"My kinda plan, Fox." he laughed. Even Fox, who was far from being in the mood for such flippancy, found himself grinning at the avian's remark. Suddenly, his attention was immediately focused back on the task at hand when a third voice came from the handheld communicator.

"Ship 613," it droned. "Has the objective been reached?" Fox was unsure of the exact nature of the "objective," but took his best guess and returned the question.

"Affirmative. Target destroyed," he waited a few seconds, his breath caught in his chest and his head throbbing. The response came back swiftly.

"Good work, 613, you are clear for landing. Over and out." Fox sighed and gave the thumbs up to Falco. The cyaneous fowl responded with a nod, and they both aimed their ships at the docking bay which had opened on the surface of the base. They maneuvered inside deftly and landed quietly. The exited their ships and conferred silently about the next course of action. After a few seconds, they began to move deeper into the belly of the base.

_Krystal,_ thought Fox._ I hope to high hell you can hear me. I'm coming to save you, don't worry. _He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood and continued his forward trek.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

Told you the next chapter would be better...

**-_][_**nquerius


	10. Revenga

**C H A P T E R** _ten_:

_**Revenga

* * *

**_

Krystal didn't know where Fox was, exactly, all she knew was that he was coming. She had heard it from his own mind. Or was that simply another hallucination brought on by her current confines? She didn't know. She couldn't see or touch the outside world through the thick fluid that surrounded her. She simply felt herself floating gently, air and nutrients provided by a series of tubes and IVs trailing down from above her. She tried to brush the thoughts of her situation out of her mind, instead focusing on the future. The future she wished for.

She imagined living with Fox on Corneria. Settling into the apartment they had previously shared in Corneria city. She imagined being able to share sunsets and the sun's warmth once again. She imagined their wedding. She imagined having kits one day, watching them grow up on Corneria. She smiled internally thinking about it. _If our kit is too much like Fox, I'm stopping at one_. She would have chuckled had she been able.

She felt a presence walk into the room where she was being held. She recognized the mind as that of Ben Marius, her captor. She felt anger build up inside of her, but she could do nothing to express it. She simply sat in wait, probing his mind and hoping to uncover his next move. In his mind, she found a mix of emotions. There was a great sadness, but it sat in the background. In the foreground, she found conflict. Confusion. His thoughts were scattered. She could only pick up small pieces.

_What does he mean, "He's here,"? Or, "End it,"? _She pondered on these thoughts, finding no meaning until she was granted a more in depth view of his mind. As he calmed down, images formed. She saw herself, incapacitated and pathetic in this vat of liquid. Friends of Marius surrounded her, looks of anticipation on their faces. She was able to reach into Marius' mind, finding the source of his worries. Had she been able to, she would have smiled.

_Fox… _She thought. She didn't know how, but he had found her. He was onboard Marius' ship, and Marius was furious about it. _Furious, _she noted. _But also afraid. He knows what Fox is capable of._ The thought of Marius' discomfort gave her a small grain of joy. She had worked for much of the past year to either kill people like him or put them behind bars. Another mind came closer. A mind she recognized. A mind she had bonded with time and time again. She knew exactly what was happening.

_Fox…_

+-+-+-+-+

Fox stood side by side with Falco outside the door to the laboratory. He could feel blood rushing through his body, filling him with venom and fire. He gritted his teeth and reached toward the grenades on his belt. His hand was stopped by the hand of his friend, whose blue feathers surrounded his fist and prevented him from grabbing the explosive. Fox turned to the avian and narrowed his eyes, growling gently. Falco simply shook his head.

"Fox," he whispered. "For all we know, she's right on the other side of this door. The grenade could kill her." Fox stopped to consider that, the anger dissipating slightly. He frowned at his friend, mulling over the situation in his mind.

"Falco, am I sensing a major case of role reversal here?" a weak smile spread itself across his muzzle. "Seriously, it's not like you to suggest we do something the _safe _way." The avian grinned back at him before turning serious again.

"Fox, he's screwing with you _and _Krystal. No one f*cks with my friends." Fox simply nodded somberly in response. The two set out to examine the door before them, seeking an ulterior mode of entry. After a precious few minutes of frantic searching, Fox stumbled across a small latch on the face of the door. Flipping it over, he found a small keypad.

"Falco," he hissed. The avian turned his attention toward Fox, who was already hard at work in attempting to determine the combination. Falco shook his head slowly.

"Foxie, that's not how you do that." He pushed the vulpine aside, earning him an agitated stare. Falco leaned down to breath on the keypad. As his breath met the metal of the buttons, condensation revealed which buttons had been pressed previously. _Hmm. Two, four, eight, nine, zero. How many digits in the combo? _Nonchalantly, Falco pressed down on the pound key. Fox yelped quietly in his ear.

"What the hell are you doing Falco?" Fox's voice was panicked. Falco simply shook his head slowly again. The small LED display above the keypad blinked off briefly before coming back online and displaying six stars.

"Crap," whispered Falco. Fox continued to panic quietly.

"What?!" he strained. Falco sighed and started explaining.

"We have five different numbers in the combo, but six digits. That means one number is used twice. Now how the hell do we figure out which one?" Fox stared at his friend.

"Name the digits," demanded Fox in hushed tones.

"Two, four, eight, nine, zero," responded Falco. It was Fox's turn to shake his head, as a grin began widening on his face. "What's so funny, Fox?"

"Enter in the digits 'two-four-zero-eight-nine-zero'," stated Fox. Falco shrugged and plugged in the digits. To his surprise, the LED screen flashed the phrase, "Code Accepted," and began to slide open. Fox and Falco nodded at each other and rolled into the room, guns armed and ready.

They came face to face with none other than Ben Marius. He stood before them, grinning insidiously. His gaze shifted from one to the other calmly. Fox noted a peculiar smell coming from the walrus. No matter how much he tried to hide it, Fox knew that he was afraid. His pheromones gave him up. Fox grinned harshly at the heavy marine mammal, feeling confident. Marius' grin transformed, hardening into a horrid smirk.

"So, Fox McCloud and friend," he sneered. "I trust you're here for the vixen. While I cannot give her to you, at the present, I can let you see her if you so wish." Fox felt taken aback. _What is he planning?_ Without lowering their weapons, Fox and Falco consented. They followed closely behind the walrus as he moved toward the back of the room. He pressed a small, camouflaged button on the wall, which began to drag itself open. Fox couldn't see Krystal. All he could see was a myriad of people crowded around a large test-tube in the center of the room. He turned back to Marius.

"What are you playing at?" he snarled. "Where's Krystal?" He could feel his eyes shoot daggers at his corpulent foe. The walrus, however, sighed comfortably, further irritating the enraged vulpine. He grunted softly and started to speak.

"Krystal… Hm. Is that what you call her?" he mused. Fox felt his anger rise as Marius danced around his question. "That's an interesting name. I used to call her _Kursed_, though I call her something else now. How did you get around my guards, if I might ask?" Fox was fuming at this point. He removed a ring of dog tags from his belt and hurled them at the obenidae. Marius side stepped casually, letting the ring fly by his head. "And what," he smirked. "Was that?"

"That," Fox growled. "Was a ring of dog tags, each one taken from a guard who got in our way." Fox's comment hit a mark, and Marius' expression faltered briefly. The two men stood staring at each other, each refusing to let the other win. Falco stood in the background, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. After a few seconds, Fox regained his composure enough to think. "What do you mean, 'used to' call her Krystal?" he asked softly.

"Oh, about that," said Marius. His cruel sneer widened. "She killed someone very near to me, so I felt the need to reciprocate." Fox felt his temper rising again, but Marius was oblivious, caught up in the euphoria of his own victory. "So I brought her to my humble abode and ran some very interesting tests. For instance, did you know that your girlfriend is pregnant, Fox? She's carrying your child." Fox lowered his gun without thinking, his eyes growing wide. Marius simply nodded enthusiastically. "Truth be told, I've been waiting for you to arrive, so I could show you this."

From his pocket, Marius withdrew a small chromed cylinder with a black tip. Sitting on top was a button, illuminated and glowing red. "I now call your precious little _girlfriend_," he spat the word out, his voice dripping with acidic hatred. "You see, I now call her 'Bleeder', and here's why. Your girlfriend is in that wonderful tube at the end of the room. All my friends are anxious to see what happens to her after I press this." Fox turned toward the test-tube he had ignored earlier and caught a flash of blue. He ran to it, unthinkingly.

"Krystal!" he shouted. The men who had previously stood silently, enjoying the show Marius had been kind enough to put on, now became worried. Fox barreled through them. Shooting several as he pushed his way through the crowd. They began to dissipate, leaving the room in droves. Fox was ignorant to this. He pressed his hand up against the tube. "Krystal…" he whispered. Marius laughed heartily in the background.

"Fox!" he shouted through his laughter. "You didn't let me finish!" he allowed himself to settle, his eyes focused on his vulpine nemesis. "Here's why I call her 'Bleeder'," Fox whipped his head around and stared hard at the man across the room. "In my hand is a detonator of sorts. As soon as I press the button, you will bear witness to a robotic arm entering the test-tube with your precious girlfriend. This is not unlike the robotic arms of surgery droids. It will simply give her a small cut above her abdomen, roughly six inches long and a half an inch deep. Such cuts are generally survivable, are they not?"

Fox's mind was swimming. He could hear what Marius was saying, but he lacked the ability to comprehend or understand it. Marius chuckled and continued. "You see, she will not survive this cut because of a different function of the button. Upon pressing the button, while the robot prepares to apply the delicate little wound, another device will pump coumadin into her body. Do you know what coumadin is, Fox?" Fox simply nodded dumbly, his brain fogged over with emotion. Marius began to laugh again; the same malevolent laugh he had used before. "Coumadin is an anticoagulant. Your girlfriend and you child will bleed out into the tube." Fox felt the fog lift, and he felt rage swallow him up. He began towards the walrus, anger pulsating throughout his body. "Oh Fox, you're so far away. Even if you run across the room, you couldn't stop me from—"

It happened quickly, so quickly in fact that the last thing to go through the mind of Ben Marius' mind before he died was the plasma bolt that killed him. Falco had stood inert, watching the whole situation play out in front of him. He waited silently until Marius forgot he was there. Then, he had killed him, ending the conflict quickly.

Fox turned his eyes to his friend, his eyes watering. Falco simply nodded, and motioned towards the test tube. Fox began to seek out some way to remove Krystal from her prison.

+-+-+-+-+

Krystal had seen the whole thing play out through Falco's eyes. His mind was the only one with enough clarity to provide her with a stable picture. Now she watched them both as they sought to free her from her prison. She thought quietly to herself as Fox and Falco bustled around her. _Is it true?_ she wondered. _Am I… Pregnant?_ She hadn't experienced any sexual activity in all of the time she had been away from Fox, and she had only reunited with Fox the past week. _There is no way he could know_, she decided. Still part of her felt oddly disappointed at the realization. _One day, though._ She felt the liquid begin to drain away from around her.

The fluid pulled her body with it, setting her down softly on the bottom of the test-tube. She was left immobile, staring foreword with half-closed eyes. Her breath came slow and slightly labored. She could feel Fox close to her, his sadness and fear palpable. How she wished she could reach inside of his mind and alleviate his fears. How she wished she could save him from his fears as she had done so many times before.

She noticed the walls of the test-tube slip away from her field of vision, and she collapsed into Fox's arms. She felt herself blush, despite herself. Here she was, completely exposed. Paralyzed. In the middle of a large room on her enemy's ship. In front of her fiance and their friend. Still, the contact with Fox allowed her to communicate with him. She pushed herself into his mind, and felt him calm down. The tears that had been falling on her slowed as she spoke to Fox's heart directly.

_It's okay, _she thought to him. _I'm okay. It will all be okay._ Krystal heard Fox think to her shortly thereafter.

_But you're not okay, _he thought. _Look what he did to you. _Krystal sought to reassure Fox, so she continued.

_Look what he wanted to do to me Fox, _she soothed. _You saved me. You saved my life. _She felt Fox's arms tighten around her. She once again used Falco as a medium and examined the situation. Krystal saw Fox, and she saw herself in his arms. Her head was resting on his shoulder while his arms circled her waist. They were both kneeling, though it was Fox who was supported them. She saw her arms hanging limply by her sides. Fox's thoughts once again broke into her mind.

_What about- What about it? _His thoughts were swimming. _Our, our, our…_

Krystal knew exactly what he meant. _Fox, if I am pregnant, then there's no way Marius could possibly know, _she felt Fox move one of his arms and run his fingers through her hair. _The only physical relations I've had since you left me a year ago were the ones we had on the Great Fox. At earliest, that would be two or three days ago There's no way anyone could know, not even me._

She sifted through Fox's emotions. There was confusion, and joy at her being okay, but there was also a sadness. A sadness and a disappointment she could relate to. He had wanted a family with her as much as she desired a family with him. The thought comforted her.

_I know, _she cooed. _I wish it was true, too. _Krystal blinked her eyes, movement gradually returning to her body. Fox nuzzled her gently and she felt warmth and love spread through her.

_At least_, started Fox._ We still have a wedding to look forward to. You did agree to that, did you not?_ She felt Fox's chest move slightly as he chuckled.

_I do, _thought Krystal. Finally having enough control, she wrapped her arms around his neck weakly. She felt him sigh against her chest as he lifted her up, her feet gently touching the floor. She shuddered, the steel floor feeling cold on her feet. She felt one of Fox's arms leave her as he started blindly groping at his belt. He pulled from a small pocket a collapsed emergency blanket. Opening it with one hand, he started unfolding it. Without ever exposing her, Krystal felt the blanket cover her entire body, forming a warm cocoon.

Fox shifted his arms and pulled her up into the same position he had used to carry her so many times, with one arm beneath her knees and the other supporting her neck and back. She nuzzled into his chest. A voice broke through the air.

"Hey guys," said Falco, his impatience becoming audible. "As much as I appreciate the lovey-dovey, silent reunion thingy ya got goin' on, I suggest we, uh, leave." With that, Krystal felt the cool breeze of movement as Fox spirited her away from her nightmare.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

Not the greatest chapter ever, not the worst. Still, it's pretty okay. Sorry the updates have slowed down...

_**-][**_nquerius


	11. City Lights

**C H A P T E R** _eleven_:

_**City Lights**_

_**

* * *

**_

Krystal didn't know how long she had been asleep. She wasn't even aware that she was asleep at the time. She only arrived at that realization once she realized that she was awake. She slowly let her eyes flutter open, allowing her a glimpse of the world around her. The mild pulsing and humming of the fluorescent lighting above her seemed familiar, as did the heart monitor pulsing beside her. It didn't take her long to realize that she was once again in the sick bay of the Great Fox II. Slowly, she began moving, testing her weary body. After assuring herself that everything was still attached and still functioning, she lifted her head from the pillow beneath it.

The first impression she got was one of the room around her spinning, causing her to grasp her stomach in nausea. She refused to give in, however, forcing herself to focus. The rapid rotations of the room slowed until arriving at a comfortable stop once again. She exhaled and forced herself into an upright, sitting position. She felt a mild tug as the IV in her arm and the monitor on her finger adjusted to the new positioning. She peered casually around the room. _This is becoming far too familiar_, she thought dismally. To her surprise, she was the only one in the room.

_Where did Fox go off to? _she wondered. She slowly scanned the ship telepathically until she stumbled across the respective minds of Fox and Falco. Once again, it was Falco's mind that offered the most clarity, allowing her to see through his eyes and listen through his ears to the conversation they were having. Fox's brain was cluttered with worry and angst. Krystal felt herself drifting into a trance as she observed the interaction.

"I just feel so useless," said Fox. Falco's eyes moved up to look at Fox's face, granting Krystal the chance to see him. His eyes were bloodshot, the dark lines so revealing of tears roaring down his cheeks. She watched awkward as Falco leaned up to look at the ceiling before responding.

"Foxie, she'll be fine. She ain't even in a coma. She's just unconscious. She'll wake up and be as good as new. Plus, I picked up whatcha asked for, so she's gonna have a _great_ homecoming." She could feel Falco smirking towards the ceiling. Falco's comment made her curious. _What did he want picked up?_

Falco's comment earned a wry smile from the vulpine. "Yeah, I guess," Falco turned back to Fox in time to catch Fox smiling into the space by his feet. Fox looked up and Falco's eyes met his, giving Krystal the chance to look into his emerald irises. "Won't she surprised when she wakes up in Cornerian airspace?" Both Falco and Krystal got a chuckle out of that comment.

"She'll probably flip," laughed Falco. _Somehow, I don't think that's the case_, Krystal thought to herself with a grin. She watched Falco's view narrow slightly as he moved the conversation in a more serious direction. "You sure dropped a pretty penny on this. You even sure she'll say yes?" Falco's eyes dropped to a small box in his hands. Krystal gasped aloud in the sick bay. Even seeing it through someone else's eyes, it was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was a lustrous white band containing two vivid cerulean sapphires. Nestled between them was a modest iridescent diamond.

Falco turned to Fox, allowing Krystal to see his response. He took a small swig from a bottle in front of him. "She already did," Fox offered a weak grin. "And I thank God every day for it. She's the best thing that ever happened in my whole damn life, and I was stupid enough to push her away once already. I refuse to make that kind of mistake again. I'm not that dumb, and I'm not that masochistic." Krystal sighed at Fox's loving words. _I wish he was here_, she thought.

Falco's mind continued on a different track. "Wait, she already said yes? You proposed without a ring? Geez, Fox, generally you're Mr. Prepared-for-anything." She watched as Falco rolled his eyes, sending her view of Fox temporarily spiraling away.

"Well, I didn't intend on proposing when I did," Fox laughed. Krystal leaned in, despite not being physically there, eager to here what Fox had to say next. "I'm glad that's what ended up happening though." He took another swig of his bottle before continuing. "I had the most amazing dream about us getting married. I swear. It was the happiest feeling. I woke up and just started thinking about being married to Krystal and how much I wanted that future for us. Out of nowhere, she looks up at me and says, 'Yes,' and kisses me, right there. I swear, if I died at that minute, I wouldn't have gone anywhere. I was already in heaven."

Falco rolled his eyes again. "Alright Foxie, that's all well and good, I'm happy for ya and all, I just don't got time for the mushy stuff. I'm gonna bolt and get to my wife. You go check on your fiance and gimme a holler if you can." With that, Falco began to leave the room. Mentally disconnecting herself from him, Krystal leaned back in her bed, letting Fox's words roll over her. She sighed happily and snuggled into the pillow, waiting for Fox to arrive.

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Fox palmed the door to the sick bay and walked inside. His palms were becoming moist and his throat constricted. _Why are you so nervous? _he asked himself. _She's already said yes!_ Still, the nervousness persisted. Swallowing, he sat next to the cot that Krystal was laying on. He reached out and casually ran his fingers through the blue hair that decorated the top of her head. Whatever had happened when Krystal was kidnapped by Marius had stripped the dye from her hair, leaving only the dizzyingly radiant blue from when they had first met. He heard Krystal yawn and retracted his hand.

Krystal turned over and opened her eyes. Fox couldn't help but get lost in them, his heart practically bursting at the seams. Even in a hospital bed, she was a picture of beauty and love. Fox found his face becoming warm as he blushed despite himself. Krystal's face transitioned into a smile and the sickbay filled with the sound of her giggle.

_Now's your chance Fox, take it!_ Fox swallowed again and retrieved a small ring box from his pocket. After his inadvertent but fortuitous proposal to Krystal earlier, he had drawn up plans for the ring and sent them to Corneria to have it made. Falco had picked it up from the surface earlier and brought it to him. He tried to ask the question right away, but his mouth betrayed him. "It feels nice to look into your eyes again after seeing you unconscious for a week. I was so worried." His face turned a deeper shade of red.

Krystal reached her hand toward him. Without thinking, he clasped it in his own and kissed her knuckles gently. "I missed you too, Fox." Her words were hushed, her weakness evident. Fox found his feelings mixed. He was caught between his love for Krystal and his hatred toward Marius for reducing her to this state. He chased the unpleasant thoughts from his mind, unwilling to let Marius ruin his life from beyond the grave.

Still clasping Krystal's hand, Fox lifted his face up so that he could look her in the eye. He drew his other hand, the one containing the ring box, up slowly. "Krystal," he said. "Roughly a year ago, I made the worst mistake of my life. Fate has allowed me to have a second chance. Will you?" He deftly opened the box with one hand, revealing the brilliant ring to the vixen before him.

Her eyes lit up and she was caught between staring at the ring and into his eyes, alternating between the two every second or so. Finally, she looked into Fox's eyes and smiled. "Didn't I already say yes?" she asked gently. Fox kissed her knuckles again and pulled the ring from the box. He pulled her hand close to him and slid the ring onto her finger before reluctantly letting go.

He watched Krystal hold her hand out in front of her to examine the ring that now found its home on her hand. He was relieved to see a wide smile spreading across her face. It felt like forever before she turned back to him. Her speech came out softly and breathlessly, "I love it. Mrs. Krystal McCloud." The words were music to Fox's ears. He leaned over the cot and kissed her. What began as a tender meeting of the lips slowly became more and more passionate with each passing second. It wasn't long before Fox was in the cot with her, lying on top of her. Fox came up for air briefly, and Krystal began to speak.

"Really Fox? In the sick bay?" Fox watched her lift her eyebrow in a cheeky smiled. Fox growled with passion and began to kiss the side of her neck. Krystal began laughing, and Fox came up for air again briefly. He moved his lips next to her ear and began to whisper to her, his voice filled with passion and longing.

"In the sick bay, in the galley, on the bridge, in out apartment in Corneria City, in the park where we watched the sunset, in the hangar." Krystal giggled lightly and moaned gently as Fox moved his lips back to her neck.

"I like the way you think, Fox," breathed Krystal. With that, the two vulpine released their inhibitions and proceeded to the depths of intimacy.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

Short chapter, but I think the events that transpire *ahem* more than make up for it. Just for reference, this does in fact hint at some lemon, without getting explicit. Trying to keep my "T" rating here... Some mysteries have yet to be unraveled, so stick around for more!

**_-][_**


	12. All I Want

**C H A P T E R** _twelve_:

_**All I Want

* * *

**_

Krystal opened her eyes slowly, gently allowing the light of the room to filter in. She yawned deeply and sat up, her arms slowly stretching out above her head. There was a time when sleeping so well for so long was a rare treat, but she had reached a point where she could take such luxuries for granted. As she further became accustomed to the waking world, she noticed the touch of humidity in the air and the gentle sound of running water. Realizing that Fox wasn't next to her in bed, she deduced that he was probably showering.

The cerulean vixen crawled out of bed and slipped on a baggy pair of shorts and one of Fox's tee-shirts before meandering to the kitchen. The apartment was much more consolidated than the Great Fox, and yet it felt so much _roomier_ to Krystal. She pulled a few things out of the pantry and a few from the refrigerator and set them all upon the kitchen counter. She slowly began to prepare a breakfast, mixing and cutting and stirring and cooking.

She was so focused on her cooking that she didn't hear the shower turn off or Fox's footsteps as he crept up behind her. She jumped nervously at the arm that found its way to her waist, eliciting a chuckle from the vulpine behind her. Before she could chastise him for scaring her, she felt him burry his muzzle comfortably into her neck. She let out a gentle, contented sigh and continued to prepare the meal. She felt Fox's damp body clinging to her for a long time before he moved away to go do something else. Immediately after he left, she missed his presence and the warmth he provided.

As Krystal put the finishing touches on breakfast, she found herself amazed at just how quickly she had settled in with Fox. It was almost as if the year of pain in between ceased to exist, leaving them in the throes of love that had accompanied since they began their relationship. Fox walked back into the kitchen, this time fully dressed, and resumed his position from before. Nuzzling his snout against the side of her neck, he whispered into her ear: "Four more days."

Krystal felt her face light up, and an excited shudder jolted through her body. She turned her head so that she could see him and planted a small kiss onto the tip of his nose. _Four days until I'm to be wed_, she thought. _I'm not sure life can be much better_. Fox began playing with one of the belt loops on the pair of shorts she was wearing, causing her to laugh out loud. "Calm down, Fox," she chuckled. She expertly scraped the food that had just finished cooking in the pan in front of her onto a plate. "Here," she said. She felt Fox's mind jump from happiness to a mild excitement as she handed him the plate of food. He picked it up and walked it to the table immediately behind him to place it down. Krystal heard his footsteps as he approached her again. This time, his arms slipped over her shoulders and he began to gently kiss the side of her face. Krystal grinned and turned her head to meet him, her lips dancing over his in a tender expression of love. She slowly removed her mouth from his and took the time to stare deeply into his malachite eyes. Giving him another small kiss, she turned back to the food she was preparing and removed the last piece on the pan for herself. The two vulpine sat and ate in near silence, stopping only to stare at the other with passion.

After finishing her food, Krystal leaned back in her chair and yawned. "Hmm. Mrs. Krystal McCloud," she mused. Fox immediately looked up at her, his eyes lighting up. Krystal both saw and sensed his happiness. "I like the sound of that." she continued. Fox's brush slowly began to wag under the table, causing Krystal to break out into a wide smile. She moved her hand on top of his so that she could both feel his warmth and see deeper into his thoughts. She was immediately submersed in a tidal wave of happiness. Her smile widened and she slipped her hand away.

As Krystal and Fox began to clean the dishes after breakfast, Krystal felt a sharp jolt in the pit of her stomach. She would have yelped had she not been immediately consumed by a gaseous nausea that distorted her vision. A simple grown escaped her lips. Fox looked up from the dishes, startled. His eyes darted from her face to her stomach clutched in her hands. Krystal started taking deep, even breaths to calm herself. As soon as she felt clearheaded, she turned to the sink behind her and threw up.

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Fox softly patted Krystal on the back as she finished up. He cooed to her, trying to comfort her. "There, there," he murmured. Krystal lifted her face up, her back heaving as she inhaled the air sharply. Finally, her breathing slowed and she turned to look at Fox. Fox noticed her eyes, now bloodshot, blurred with both confusion and misery at her condition. He wanted to say something, anything, but he didn't know what. Instead, he picked up a small dish towel from next to him and wiped her face softly, cleaning her up. He heard the vixen sigh, a small, shy smile spreading across her lips.

Fox was curious. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern dripping from every word. He looked into her eyes and she nodded slowly. He returned her smile and dabbed at the corner of her mouth one last time, eliciting a small chuckle from the vixen. Fox arched his eyebrow at her quizzically.

"Oh it's just that," stated the vixen. "When I was on my own, if I got sick, I had to take care of myself. It's kind of nice to have someone who's willing to take care of me." Fox felt the small smile return to his lips, and he gingerly wrapped his arms around Krystal. He ran his fingers through the long blue hair that decorated the top of her head and rubbed her back gently.

"I swear, I will take care of you to the best of my ability," he said. "Any idea what brought that last bit of sick on?" His fingers continued stroking her locks and his hand continued to smoothly run down her back. He could feel Krystal's muscles relaxing in his arms.

"No clue," she responded. "Must have been something I ate that didn't agree with me." Fox pulled himself back and kissed her on the forehead. He loved the feeling of her blue fur against his lips and the familiar scent of her hair in his nose.

"How many people are going to be there, you think?" asked Fox. "So far it looks to be about fifteen, twenty tops." It was Krystal's turn to arch her eyebrow. Fox realized that the question had little context, so he responded. "The wedding," he said. Krystal's face immediately became the loving smile she had given him as they ate.

She leaned her head on his chest before simultaneously nodding a silent, "Yes." and nuzzling him gently. Fox sighed and dropped his arms so that they were on her waist. He hummed gently for a few seconds before Krystal's voice interrupted him. "So, any plans for the honey moon?" Fox felt a grin split his face.

"Well," he said. "I know this great place we can go…" His voice trailed off, and he began to dance slowly with Krystal in his arms. They spun through the kitchen, each one caught in the other's embrace.

"Don't keep me waiting," Krystal breathed impatiently. "Where?" Fox loved the feeling of her warm breath on his chest and took a moment to inhale deeply through his nose.

"This great place called Cape Claw. It's a beautiful place." Fox looked down to see Krystal looking back up at him. Their eyes met, and he planted a tender kiss on her lips. Her voice became breathy and hushed.

"That sounds wonderful," she whispered. Fox began humming and dancing with her again, the unheard rhythm dictating their movements as they waltzed throughout the room. Fox took a moment to lean in and place his muzzle near her ear.

"Then, while we're there, we can get started on a family," he growled softly. Krystal smiled and nuzzled his shoulder. "How many kits would you like?" Krystal tapped Fox on the back of the head jokingly.

"How about we discuss this later, hmm?" she asked. The vibrations of her warm breath against Fox's shoulder made him smile brightly. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"My wish is your command," hummed Fox. They continued dancing together, the room silent save for Fox's gentle humming. They spun in circles, each lost in the gentle embrace of their companion. It was, perhaps, a complete turnaround. Two souls which had once been shattered helping to pull each other back together. Fox felt Krystal's head move until the tip of her muzzle was close to his ear lobe, the sensation of her breath tickling him.

"Fox?" she asked. "Falco shared with me the details of the, ahem, situation last week…" Her voice trailed off, her eyes taking the time to wander the room. Fox coaxed the question out.

"Yes? What would you like to know?" he asked. His voice was sincere.

"How did you know the combination? The one to the room that they house me in. It's been bothering me." Fox felt himself grin again and squeezed the vixen a little tighter, making sure she could feel his joy physically as well as mentally.

"The code was the name of the file he sent me with your information in it. Incidentally, it was also the amount of money he offered me for completing the job. I figured it must have been significant somehow. Upon further investigation, I found that two-four-zero-eight-nine-zero was the date on which a certain Ophelia Fenson was dispatched by a bounty hunter named Kursed." He wrapped his arms around her tighter and stilled their bodies. "I knew how much losing a loved one hurt. It's the only thing on your mind. So I figured that it would be the only thing on his. When I saw the numbers, I knew what the combination was. It could only be Ophelia." Fox paused for a second and was surprised to feel warm drops land on his shoulder. It took him a moment to realize that Krystal was crying. He gently began to sway back and forth again.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice genuine and compassionate. He began to dance with her again, and the tears slowly faded from his shoulder. Krystal leaned back in his arms, allowing him the chance to look into her eyes while they danced. They seemed to deep in thought miles away and simultaneously focused on the here and now.

"I guess I'm just upset," began Krystal. "That Marius wasn't as lucky as we were. He didn't get a second chance." Fox nodded somberly, and the two vulpine continued to spiral around the room, lost in each other's arms.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

Sorry this chapter has been so long in coming. I really am. I've been quite busy lately. I'd just like to say that I still have a few more chapters to go, and a small surprise for all my readers. Don't worry. It's a happy little surprise. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Extra-fluffy!

**_-][_**


	13. Someone Like You

**C H A P T E R** _thirteen:_

_**Someone Like You

* * *

**_

The day of the wedding was a serene one. A mild breeze rippled through the small park where the ceremonies were held. The sun shined down pleasantly; warm, but not in an overbearing way. Relatively few were in attendance. The Toads arrived from Aquas. There was much handshaking as Fox and Krystal greeted Amanda and Slippy and their ever-expanding brood of children. Next in attendance was Falco Lombardi with Katt Monroe on his arm. Fox and Krystal shared a knowing glance as they greeted the couple. Finally, there was the Hare family. Peppy arrived in full General regalia side by side with his daughter, Lucy. Together, these people formed an extended family; a family that went beyond mere blood and DNA. Where they had been loss in the past, these people came together to fill in the gaps and help one another heal.

The wedding itself was understated, the young couple opting away from a large and elaborate ceremony. Instead, they were married simply under a small tent, the wedding being presided over by a justice of the peace. The banquet was discarded in favor of a small picnic. The happy couple and their family simply sat amongst the trees, speaking to one another and sharing stories. There was much laughter as memories from the past were rehashed, and much "Ooh"-ing and "Ah"-ing when the newlyweds shared a kiss. As the small picnic wound down, Peppy pulled Fox aside.

"Fox," he whispered. "I figured I should give you your gift with a little bit of discretion on my part. Wouldn't want the others to know exactly what I'm giving you." The rabbit's slightly southern twang was evident even in his hushed speech and the small chuckle that followed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small key card. "This will get you into the honeymoon suite of _Le Palais Royal d'Aphrodite_, just outside of the city." Fox was dumbfounded. _Le Palais Royal d'Aphrodite _was easily the most luxurious hotel on the planet. Just as Fox was about to thank him, Peppy began to speak again. He pulled another small key card from his pocket.

"This," he stated. "Is for if you two want to head somewhere _special_ for a little while. Sauria to be precise. Call the number on the back. I had Beltino format the gate special for this occasion. A little puddlehopper should be all you need." The lapine stood back and grinned at his flabbergasted friend. Fox simply stared, open-mouthed, at Peppy, before wrapping him in a bear hug.

"Thank you so much," he breathed. Tears were streaming down his face. "After my dad passed, you practically raised me. You helped me when I needed it, and now this. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you—" Fox was cut off by Peppy's hand patting him softly on the back.

"You're welcome, Fox," he pulled out of the vulpine's arms. "I consider you to be the son I never had. I only wish your father was here to see this." The hare stared at the ground, downtrodden, if only for a moment. He quickly turned back to look at the Reynard, a wide grin splitting his face. "That being said, you have a bride to attend to."

Fox pivoted around to see Krystal staring at him, offering a lopsided grin. He grinned back, tears still streaming down his face. He walked back to her and scooped her up in his arms. He kissed her deeply, in the company of all his closest friends. Cheering erupted amongst them at the sight of the happy couple. Fox pulled his face away, Krystal's hand still resting on the side of his muzzle. He thought loudly and clearly, _Do you remember what I promised you on the ship?_ he asked. Krystal simply shook her head. Fox grinned and projected a memory into her head, a memory from when she had returned from Marius' prison. It was of Fox lying on top of her just after she had woken up in the sick bay. In the memory, he leaned his muzzle close to her ear and growled:

"In the sick bay, in the galley, on the bridge, in out apartment in Corneria City, in the park where we watched the sunset, in the hangar."

Krystal's eyes grew wide at Fox, still carrying her toward a small ship sitting in the background. He moved his lips next to her ear and began to whisper to her, his voice filled with passion and love. "I meant every word." Krystal giggled and kissed Fox gently on the lips.

"I'll hold you to it," she said. With that, the two vulpine boarded the ship, taking off into the future together.

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It was nearing the eighth day of their honeymoon. The honeymoon of the newly christened McCloud family. Krystal lifted herself from the bed and rested her hand on her stomach. Fox still slept, his back fur visible. Noticeable claw marks ran down it's length, causing Krystal to grin softly to herself. She felt bad. Three days this week she had awoken sick, unable to do much other than vomit. She reached to the bedside table and picked up a small, portable computer. Curiously, she typed in some of the symptoms she had been experiencing lately. _Slight bloating, nausea, light sensitivity, delayed menstruation. _The words were entered into the search engine and the results appeared from the depths of the internet. Krystal eyed them with surprise, her eyes widening exponentially as she searched deeper and deeper into the text. She cast a glance back at Fox, still sleeping on the bed.

She turned off the computer and placed it back on the bedside table. She searched around their hotel room briefly until she had stumbled across a small piece of scrap paper and a pen. She quickly scrawled a note to Fox and slipped on some clothing. She placed the note on the table next to him and kissed him softly on the forehead. He stirred slightly and smiled in his sleep, causing Krystal to chuckle silently to herself. She slid her feet into her shoes sitting by the door and left their suite.

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Fox awoke alone in the suite. His first instinct was fear. Fear that he had dreamt the whole thing, fear that Krystal had left him again. His fears were quickly assuaged by the claw marks he felt on his back and the note left on his bedside table. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and lifted it up in front of himself so that he could see it in the early noon light.

"_Dear Fox,_" it read in Krystal's tidy lettering. "_Went out briefly. Be back as soon as possible. XOXO, Krystal McCloud_." Fox smiled at the note and pressed it against his lips, kissing it softly and inhaling her scent from the paper. He rolled himself out of bed and slipped on some clothes. He slowly set out toward the kitchen of the suite to prepare a light breakfast for Krystal and himself when she returned from where ever she had gone.

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Krystal stumbled back into the suite feeling dazed, the events of the day sliding in and out of the focus of her mind. She was so dazed that she couldn't feel Fox's presence sliding up behind her, causing her to jump with shock as his arms snaked around her torso. Fox rested his muzzle on her shoulder and chuckled. She sighed and nuzzled the side of his head.

"What smells so good?" she asked, her mind still reeling. Fox remained oblivious to her inner turmoil as they set out for the kitchen. Fox and Krystal sat down and availed themselves of the food, but Krystal still found her mind a million miles away, focused on what she had learned.

"Krystal?" Fox asked tenderly. Krystal's attention snapped back to the present. "Are you okay?"

Krystal sighed deeply and put her food down. "Fox," she said. "I went to the doctor today…" Fox jumped in:

"About why you've been getting sick?" Krystal nodded. "And?" he asked.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered. Her voice was all choked up, and her face was caught between a wide smile and bawling her eyes out. She looked at Fox, who sat there stunned. The silence between them grew palpable, before Fox asked.

"How long?"

"A month." She watched Fox begin to run the calculations in his head before turning back to her.

"That would have had to have been the first or second time we, uh, _joined_, after getting back together." Krystal nodded, tears beginning to run down her face. She was still unsure how Fox would take it, and her present state made reading his mind difficult. His blank face made seeing his thoughts all but impossible. His thoughts were illegible until he swooped down, catching her in a hearty kiss. The kiss took her breath away.

"I thought you might be a bit upset," she asked. Fox looked at her, surprised.

"Krystal, do you remember what I asked you the first time you got sick at our apartment?" Krystal smiled at him. She did remember. She moved on top of Fox, kissing him deeply before responding.

"You asked me how many kits I'd like…" Fox grinned at her.

"And?" he asked. Krystal looked at him thoughtfully.

"Hmm…" she said. "I say we go over the _process_ and then see how many we actually end up with." Fox's eyes lit up.

"I'd like that," he said. With that, they began to kiss again, the passion between them rising and rising like a ladder to the heavens.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

Well, there you have it! That wraps up the main story. There is a prologue on it's way, and that will help lead into my next story. Thank you to all my readers and proofreaders!

_**-][**_


	14. Epilogue

**E P I L **_OGUE:

* * *

_

_**5 years later: Corneria…**_

"Wow! Dad, we're like a skyscraper!" the young vulpine eagerly clawed at his father's head, thrilled to see the world from a new perspective. Fox grinned as the kit's small shoes bounced off his chest painlessly. While he was aware of his wife, Krystal, somewhere behind them, most of his attention was focused on the hyperactive blue kit riding on his shoulders.

"Someday, I'll take you into space. Then you'll be taller than the whole _planet_," smirked Fox. While he couldn't see the kit's face, he was sure that his eyes were bugging out of his head. Fox laughed at the thought, while claws once again raked against his head.

"MOM!" yelled the kit. "DAD SAYS HE'S GONNA TAKE ME TO OUTER SPACE!" Fox turned around and smiled meekly at his wife. She winked at him and grinned back.

"That sounds like fun Marcus, but won't you miss earth? There's no ticklefighting allowed in space!" With that, Krystal rushed up towards her cerulean offspring, tickling his sides. Marcus began laughing and trying to get away from his mom's hands.

"Hey, hey, hey!" laughed Fox. "Take it easy! You're going to bash my brain in!" Marcus started to clamber down his father's back onto the green grass below. He was wearing the yellow jumpsuit he had received from his uncle Falco for his birthday. The suit bore the insignia of Falco's G-Zero racing team, with the words "Pit Crew" emblazoned on the front right breast pocket.

"Hey dad?" asked Marcus.

"What is it, kiddo?"

"What's life about?" Marcus turned to look at his father, their eyes meeting.

"Life," began Fox. "Is just a big quest for meaning." Krystal snaked her hand into Fox's as they watched Marcus play with the clumps of grass and mud.

"Hmm," pouted Marcus. "I don't get it."

"You will when you're older," stated Fox.

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Krystal and Fox tucked in the small blue vulpine. He was peaceful and angelic when he slept, a sharp contrast to the bundle of energy he was in his waking hours.

"You know," Krystal whispered. "If he wasn't blue, he'd look just like you." She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed gently. Fox wrapped an arm around her waist and nuzzled his cheek onto the top of her head before pulling away and kissing her gently. "So, Fox…" she asked.

"Yes?"

"If life is a quest for meaning, have you found yours yet?" Fox gently led her out of the room and put his hand under her chin so he could look into her eyes.

"I hope this is an okay answer," he stated. With that, he kissed her passionately and held her in his arms. Sweeping her off her feet, he carried her to the bed room, where in between moans and sighs he assured her that he had, indeed, found the meaning of his life.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**

**A special thanks to the following musical artists/ albums:**

Sons of Abraham - _Termites In His Smile_

Hawthorne Heights - _The Silence in Black and White_

Fugazi - _Red Medecine_

Zebrahead - _MFZB_

Sum 41 - _All Killer No Filler_

Senses Fail - _Still Searching_

Ride - _Nowhere_

A Skylit Drive - _Adelphia_

Jawbreaker - _Bivouac_

System of a Down - _Mesmerize_

City Lights - _Demo_

The Offspring - _Ixnay on the Hombre_

Operation M.D. - _We Have An Emergency

* * *

_

_Author's Note: _

I'm going to take a short break now that this story is over. Don't worry, I'll be back! I just need an opportunity to recharge my batteries and get my creative juices pumping again, as it were. In the mean time, I'm intent on doing some Beta Reading, so if you need someone to Beta, hit me up!


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